Wisdom Teeth Treatment & Extraction in Geelong
Wisdom Teeth
With age comes wisdom. Annoyingly, so does your wisdom teeth. Your mouth goes through many changes in your lifetime. One major dental milestone that usually takes place between the ages of 17 and 21 is the appearance of your third molars. Historically, these teeth have been called wisdom teeth because they come through at a more mature age.
When they come through correctly, healthy wisdom teeth can help you chew. Similar to your other teeth, it’s normal to feel a little discomfort when your wisdom teeth appears, but if you have pain you need to see a dentist immediately.
When to Consider Removal of Wisdom Teeth?
Before making any decisions, your dentist will examine your mouth and take an x-ray. Together, you and your dentist can discuss the best course of treatment. Every patient is unique, but in general, wisdom teeth may need to be removed when there is evidence of:
- Pain
- Infection
- Cysts
- Tumours
- Damage to neighbouring teeth
- Gum disease
- Tooth decay (if it is not possible or desirable to restore the tooth)
- Your dentist may also recommend removal of wisdom teeth as part of treatment for braces or other dental care
Causes of Wisdom Teeth Problems
As your wisdom teeth make their way through your gums, your dentist will be monitoring your mouth for signs of the following:
- Wisdom teeth can lead to problems if there isn’t enough space for them to surface or they come through in the wrong position. This is also known as impaction.
- Wisdom teeth that aren’t in the right position can allow food to be trapped. This gives cavity-causing bacteria a place to grow.
- Wisdom teeth that haven’t come in properly can make it difficult to floss between the wisdom teeth and the molars next to them.
- Wisdom teeth that have partially come through can give bacteria a place to enter the gums and create a place for infection to occur. This may also lead to pain, swelling and stiffness in your jaw.
- Wisdom teeth that don’t have room to come can crowd or damage neighbouring teeth.
- A wisdom teeth that is impacted can form a cyst on or near the impacted teeth. This could damage the roots of nearby teeth or destroy the bone that supports your teeth.
Expertise in Wisdom Teeth Extraction
At Geelong Dental Group, Dr Claudia performs the most complicated and difficult wisdom teeth extraction for our patients. She has an immense experience when it comes to wisdom teeth extraction throughout her long career. Her caring nature also helps calm our patients as she has a full understanding of how it can be stressful for them.