Wisdom Tooth for a Thought

According to studies one out of four persons will have wisdom teeth. The development of these teeth comes once an individual is around twelve years old. Some may wonder, what is the function of wisdom teeth?

The wisdom teeth are commonly developed at the third molars. The experts believe that these parts of the teeth were used by the early human ancestors to grind plant tissues, for they have larger jaws and more teeth. This way they use them for chewing the cluster of the plant leaves, thus making it easier to digest. When human diets changed, the development of smaller jaws follows. In spite of these changes, wisdom teeth which are also called the third molars, are commonly developed in some individuals.

Removing Wisdom Teeth for 6 Reasons:

1. Want to have Peace of Mind. Avoiding complication is what everyone often wants. So there are people who choose to remove their wisdom teeth for health reason. It is believed that the early they are removed, it would easier to recover.
2. Even the asymptomatic or problem free state of wisdom teeth, it will remain a breeding ground for oral inflammation or infection. According to research, the inflammation has the possibility to enter the bloodstream and then may develop different diseases such as stroke, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
3. When there is inflammation and gum disease linked on wisdom teeth, it can result in tooth loss, deterioration of the jawbone and receding gum tissues.
4. When the wisdom teeth develop linked to cysts/tumors. It requires broad procedure to remove this type of wound, to be able to restore the appearance and jaw function.
5. For those with successful wisdom teeth gum tissue eruption, this area is observed to to clean thoroughly and have no meaningful function.
6. Research shows oral inflammation that linked with wisdom teeth can lead to low birth weight infants or premature birth.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Procedure

To be able to proceed to the surgery of wisdom tooth extraction procedure, the patient shouldn’t have any infections or it will be delayed until the infection is cleared (with the use of antibiotics).

The dentist needs to take a closer look of your wisdom tooth beneath the gums by Xray. The result of the result of the x-ray will let the dentist see if root of the wisdom tooth is straight or not.

Before the dentist remove the wisdom tooth, the patient will be given a local anesthetic (to numb the tooth area to be removed). If there are several wisdom teeth to be removed, a general anesthetic can be used.

When the procedure is done, you’ll have stitches (some may be taken off or dissolved). The dentist will advise you about this. To stop the bleeding, a clean cotton gauze pad will be placed over the wound.