Wisdom teeth or third molars are the last, most posteriorly placed permanent teeth to erupt in our mouth. While some lucky people will never grow them, for most of us, they usually come through between 17 and 25 years of age.
During your routine check-up appointment, we will be performing a full-mouth x-ray (OPG) to assess their position and suggest treatment options.
Completely buried underneath the gum
In most cases they can go unnoticed. This is great news, they will probably never come through and give you trouble.
However, they may become problematic in the future and need to be assessed on a case-to-case basis.
Completely erupted and in a good position in the arch
This happens when there is enough room for them in your jaw. You will need to be carefully brushing them to avoid tooth decay as they are so far back, but they can be kept if not causing you issues.
Partially through the gum and/or coming on an angle
In this situation you may experience recurrent gum flare-ups caused by food and bacteria getting stuck in the pocket of gum that partially covers the wisdom tooth. Moreover, the impacted wisdom tooth can seriously damage the tooth in front of it by causing decay on its side. The recommended treatment, in this case, is the removal of the wisdom tooth.
The majority of wisdom teeth can be safely removed in the dental chair and we can provide forms of relaxation such as nitrous oxide or IV sedation for your comfort.
Call us for more information or book a wisdom tooth consultation today.
Cosmetic dentistry offers solutions to enhance the aesthetic appearance of a person’s smile, with the goal of creating beautiful, natural looking smiles while maintaining or improving dental health.
General dentistry focuses on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of common dental conditions, in order to maintain patients’ optimal oral health and their overall wellbeing.
