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Wisdom teeth are molars that have grown too big and too quickly, for the space your mouth has allocated for them, says a London dentist. They usually come in 4s and are the molars at the very back of your mouth, they are also prone to infection due to the fact they are hard to clean. The most common age group to get them are 17 to 25 year olds, they can grow forward or backward, but whichever way they grow they will cause the victim great pain at times, and constant infection. It is best to have them extracted and have done with it, but even that will often bring on other problems for years to come. The operation to extract them is carried out under a general anaesthetic usually, but in certain cases it may be done under a local with a sedative to relax you. The dental surgeon will need to cut deep into the jaw line to make sure that they extract the entire tooth. This leaves a bigger than usual hole in the gum line and it is this that makes healing more prolonged and subject to infection. There isn`t really anything that can be done to stop this, taking antibiotics and constantly swishing the mouth with strong washes will help to some extent. You will most likely need pain killers as well, especially in the hours after the anaesthetic has worn off, see your doctor for a stronger prescription type if the matter persists. It is very unusual for wisdom teeth to not cause long term problems, however it does happen and there are rare cases where people have them all their lives without any problems at all.