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Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars that generally erupt in people’s late teens or early twenties. In some patients with smaller jaws the wisdom teeth may never fully erupt which cause them to push forward potentially causing significant damage to the roots of other teeth. This can also cause infections and cysts to develop in the tissue surrounding the teeth.
Wisdom teeth can also cause pain if there is enough room but they are not aligned correctly. In fact, in studies it has been found that incorrectly aligned teeth can be just as likely to develop infection as teeth without enough room. These infections can cause very unpleasant pain that will need dental treatment to stop. This usually involves the removal of the wisdom teeth by a City of London dentist or maxillofacial surgeon. Depending on the severity of the problem, this will be carried out in either the dentist’s surgery or in the hospital for more extreme cases. The more compacted or misaligned, the more complicated and lengthy the surgery. Ignoring wisdom teeth altogether can lead to tissue and nerve damage in the facial muscles.
Dentists will usually check patients of a certain age for developing wisdom teeth to see if they are going to pose a problem. It is better to remove wisdom teeth likely to be problematic before they actually begin to cause pain as this makes removal far less unpleasant. Wisdom teeth are easier to remove in younger patients because the roots are softer as they have not had time to properly develop.