Wisdom Teeth Extraction
Portland, OR
When it come to the health of your mouth, we at Arbor View Dental are always looking out for things that can cause a problem. One of the issues that frequently needs mitigation is wisdom teeth. Many people have wisdom teeth, but few of them have room for wisdom teeth, which results in the need for wisdom teeth extraction. Wisdom teeth extraction is a procedure that we frequently perform at Arbor View Dental, so you can trust our expertise.
Why Wisdom Teeth Need To Go
Many people ask the question, “Why do so many people have wisdom teeth and need them to be removed?” It is thought that wisdom teeth are a remanent from a time when humans had larger mouths and the need four more molars. Now, most people don’t have enough room in their mouth for an extra set of molars so they must be removed before the can cause any trouble.
How much trouble can an extra set of molars cause? If there isn’t enough room for wisdom teeth in your mouth, some things can go wrong. Wisdom teeth without enough room are usually impacted, which means they run into some other structure of your mouth (teeth, jaw bone). When a tooth becomes impacted, it is a high risk for infection and has the potential to cause much damage to neighboring teeth. Wisdom teeth frequently come in at the wrong angle and can cause much pain. The common concerns associate with impacted wisdom teeth are:
| • | Pain |
| • | Infection |
| • | Tumors |
| • | Cysts |
| • | Gum disease |
| • | Damage to other teeth or oral structures |
Wisdom Teeth Don’t Always Have To Be Removed
There are some people who have enough room in their mouth to accommodate wisdom teeth. It is important that you bring your children in to see us twice a year so that we can stay up to date on the progression of their adult teeth. Wisdom teeth are usually the last teeth in the mouth to erupt, typically coming in at around 16-20 years of age. We can see the formation and arrangement of wisdom teeth years in advance and determine whether or not your child will have enough space in their mouth to keep them.
Wisdom Teeth Extraction
As mentioned above, wisdom teeth extractions are a very common procedure and are made very easy when we have time to pre-plan them. When a wisdom tooth goes undetected and is allowed to erupt and become impacted, the procedure becomes more complicated but still common.
The extraction procedure begins with a local anesthetic to ensure your comfort. Once the extraction site is fully numb, we will make a small incision to gain access to the wisdom teeth and carefully remove them. Once removed we will suture the extraction sites closed and place a piece of gauze over the sites. It is important to take it easy for the rest of the day, and if possible the following day or so after having your wisdom teeth removed. It is important that a blood clot form as it can help prevent infection and speed recovery.
Call us today at (503) 465-4848 to schedule your appointment.
