Wisdom teeth are the upper and lower third molars , located at the very corner / back of the mouth. They are called wisdom teeth because they come in usually when a person is between 17 & 25 years older , old enough to have gained some wisdom. Wisdom teeth that are healthy and properly grown, do not cause problems.

Frequently, there is not enough space for normal eruption for them as by the time that they have to come, other teeth would have occupied the space in the dental arch, which results in their growth in unusual direction like towards the cheek, horizontally towards the neighbouring tooth, towards tongue causing pressure pain. Many a times, they would have grown completely, but being corner most teeth, they are not easily cleansable leading to food collection in them and consequent dental decay / dental infection / dental pain in them.

Wisdom teeth are like accessory 15th or 16th player of a cricket team which are not of any functional help to the mouth. They may not contribute to chewing, biting, swallowing or speaking in an evident manner. It has been documented by scientific research that their removal or non-existence does not cause any loss or deficiency in the functions of mouth. Dr. Soni at Fountain Dental Clinic in Rajsamand can explain further with the help of animation videos during consultation.

Here are the signals of the problem :

• Dental Pain in opening the mouth
• Dental Pain in the surrounding gums of wisdom tooth
• Pain in the ear and headache
• Dental Pain on chewing on the affected side of wisdom tooth
• Swelling on the affected side of the wisdom tooth
• Ulcers on the skin around wisdom tooth
• Sensitivity to hot and cold in the wisdom tooth

Whenever there is dental pain due to decay or pressure of wisdom tooth, it needs to be checked with a dental / digital x-ray first. If the mouth opening is wide and decay is treatable with a dental root canal treatment ,then the tooth may be saved. Most of the times, removal by a minor dental surgical procedure is preferable as a permanent solution of the problem of wisdom teeth. Medicines without any sort of dental treatment may partially serve the purpose of treating dental pain but only temporarily.

What if I don�t get it removed?

Removal is the last choice for any patient or a dentist. The mere thought of the procedure is scary for a patient. Nobody likes to go for it at the first place. As wisdom teeth are of no functional value,

there are certain unavoidable situations where removal is completely helpful in preserving other teeth and structures and preventing further damage due to dental infection and undue pressure

Impacted / infected wisdom teeth can cause:

• Dental infection of neighbouring skin-gum tissue
• Dental decay in wisdom tooth with posing threat of spreading to neighbouring teeth
• crowding of front teeth due to pressure on front teeth
• possible spread spread of dental infection upwards to side of the face , ear and surrounding areas.