Do You have Impacted Wisdom Teeth?

Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to come in between 17-25 years of age. Best case scenario, there is enough space in your jaw for these teeth so you can use them. Unfortunately, many of our Yuba City dental patients experience discomfort from impacted wisdom teeth. “Impacted” means there isn’t enough room in your jaw to accommodate more teeth. The second molars may have come in with no problem, but are now being crowded by the new neighbors — The Third Molars. This leads to a misaligned dental arch, jaw pain and headaches. When this happens, extracting the wisdom teeth is recommended by our Yuba City family dentists.

When Wisdom Teeth Are a Problem

Impacted wisdom teeth almost always affect their immediate neighbors in the jaw, leading to tooth decay or bone loss. Its best to catch this problem early by extracting the wisdom teeth before there is tooth or jaw damage. Therefore, wisdom teeth should be extracted for the following reasons:

• Impacted wisdom teeth are damaging nearby molars.
• Teeth are becoming misaligned due to crowding.
• Cysts are forming, resulting in pain, bone loss or infection.
• Impaction is leading to gum disease.

Every patient has different needs and circumstances, so our Yuba City dental professionals monitor the progress and health of your wisdom teeth during your regular dental visits and recommend further corrective action if necessary. X-rays show impacted wisdom teeth long before they affect your dental health, so we know if your wisdom teeth are posing a problem well in advance.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

With local anesthesia or sedation, removal of wisdom teeth takes about one hour. For patients who are nervous about this oral surgery procedure, we offer oral conscious sedation or sleep dentistry. Recovery from wisdom teeth extraction takes a few days and our dental team provides home after-care instructions to assist in your recovery. Following these rules helps you to avoid infection and more pain than necessary.

So if you are having problems with your wisdom teeth, contact the Yuba City Dentistry Group for a consultation to find out if wisdom teeth extraction is needed.