Introduction
The four corners in the very back of your mouth. Two on the top, two on the bottom. Do you feel them? Those are your wisdom teeth! (Note: If you can’t feel them, they might not be fully grown yet. Or if you’re a part of one third of the human population, you could just be born without them.)
Wisdom teeth are the last set of molars in the mouth that start their development in one’s late teens or early twenties. These adult teeth are grown and squeezed to fit into the rest of one’s jaw at the latest moment, which would cause an impact upon other teeth due to the lack of room space. As a result, they often cause problems for people in the future.
Growth & Complications
The way wisdom teeth grow is unpredictable. According to Mayo Clinic, they could grow at an angle towards other teeth or the back of the mouth, or vertically like normal teeth. However, they’d remain trapped within the jawbone. Either way, they’re most likely to risk other types of complications.
Effects
The most common effect of keeping your wisdom teeth is the impact upon other teeth. They’ll cause damage by pushing for space, which might bend your other teeth and raise infection risk. Another effect would be creating cysts: formed by fluid filling up the sacs that wisdom teeth occupy and would lead to damaging the jawbone, including teeth and nerves. Other effects involve bacteria. Due to the difficulty of cleaning the wisdom teeth areas, decay of teeth may occur to form cavities and gum disease from the pain of cleaning areas.
Remove them!
Most people have traditionally gotten their wisdom teeth removed only if they’re causing people problems. From Dr. Shafqat, he recommends the best time for wisdom teeth to be evaluated between 15-17 years of age. Dr. Shafqat has privately practiced for 40 years and completed his residency program at Loma Lima University Medical Center. Since the bones of teenagers are more flexible than adults, it would be an easier surgical procedure to have the wisdom teeth removed before the teeth reach maximum density.
There are 3 main steps of the procedure: the before, during, and after. Pre-procedure is basically a consultation with the dentist/oral surgeon about how bad the patient’s wisdom teeth situation is and what options are available for the patient to proceed. On this day of consultation, it’s important to ask questions if unsure. Mayo Clinic suggests some: How many wisdom teeth do you need to remove? How long will the procedure last? Could this cause nerve damage? Can I take my prescription medicines before surgery?
To make the process easier, three types of anesthesia may be offered from least effective to most: local, sedation, and general. Though the other two require the patient to be awake, general anesthesia puts the patient into a deep sleep and lets them breathe through normally or an IV line, or both. The more complex a procedure, which is usually for adults, the more the patient will be given general anesthesia. During the procedure, the surgeon could cut the gum tissue to expose the bone, remove the bone blocking the tooth root, or divide the tooth into sections. Don’t worry, stitches and gauze will help close the wound and control bleeding if necessary.
Post-procedure is the harder part for most people. For the next few days to a week, there may be bleeding, swelling & bruising, having trouble consuming foods, and requiring little physical activity ongoing. However, if the patient experiences symptoms of over-bleeding, fever, lasting numbness, worsened swelling, and/or trouble breathing, they must immediately contact their surgeon in case of an infection or other serious complications.
Or not?
Different people have different problems. If your wisdom teeth grow out like normal, you don’t have to remove them. But if you have an x-ray like Figure 1’s, you should consider undergoing the surgery before they cause complications.
Recently, there is speculation about the human’s jaw evolution over the years. Therefore, more people might have enough room space for all their adult teeth or might not ever have all four wisdom teeth disturb them. Even so, there’s still 5 million Americans that get their wisdom teeth removed each year according to a 2021 Business Insider article. And here you are, worrying about whether you should remove your wisdom teeth!
References
Lee, D. R. (2024, March 25). Do All People Have Wisdom Teeth? Retrieved from Patuxent Orthodontics: https://patuxentorthodontics.com/do-all-people-have-wisdom-teeth/
Mayo Clinic. (2024, February 1). Impacted wisdom teeth. Retrieved from Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/wisdom-teeth/symptoms-causes/syc-20373808
Mayo Clinic. (2024, April 5). Wisdom tooth removal. Retrieved from Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/wisdom-tooth-extraction/about/pac-20395268
Polan, S., & Kim, G. (2021, May 20). 5 million Americans get their wisdom teeth removed each year. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/why-wisdom-teeth-suck-dentist-dental-health-2018-10
Shafqat, J. P. (2024). When should wisdom teeth be evaluated. Retrieved from Shafqat Oral Surgery: https://www.shafqatoralsurgery.com/blog/when-should-wisdom-teeth-be-evaluated/
Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board