Wisdom teeth often cause pain and other problems such as infections, they are located in the back of the mouth.

Wisdom teeth usually emerge from the gums at the back of the mouth at an average age of 17 to 24 years. Not all people develop these molars or, there are those who may have the four molars, located one in each corner of the mouth. For the Wisdom Tooth Extractionthe space in the mouth is considered and whether the patient has other symptoms.

Function

These molars were very important in early humans to be able to chew both vegetables and meat proteins. It has been found in fossils that the jaws were longer and wider, since sufficient space was needed for the wisdom teeth. When the process of evolution occurred, it was changed to a human diet and with the use of fire to cook food, the muscles did not develop as much, so the jaws began to develop smaller.

Today we know that its main function is crushing and chewing food to facilitate their ingestion, as do the rest of the teeth, so they should only be extracted if advised by a Dentist.

One of the main problems is the little space that remains in the jaws, it may also be due to the appearance of wisdom teeth cysts or for one Pericoronitiswhich is an inflammation of the gum around the wisdom tooth.

It can also be about a bad position of the wisdom teethsince they come in a diagonal shape and only partially erupt or are retained within the gum, sometimes the wisdom teeth can impact the bone in their attempt to come out through some part of the gum, which causes damage to the neighboring molars.

Diagnosis and procedure

The Dentist or Oral Surgeon must review the patient and consider the extraction of the wisdom teeth when they are retained or due to some other pathology. Generally, the following aspects are evaluated in the consultation:

• Assessment of symptoms and general health
• Clinical examination of the condition of the teeth and gums
• Panoramic dental x-rays where you can see wisdom teeth, signs of injuries to neighboring teeth or bone

Depending on the patient’s needs and comfort level, the Dentist will use the best anesthesia for the extraction of the wisdom teeth, whether Local anesthesia, where the professional injects close to the molars to be extracted, the patient will be awake and will only feel pressure and force, but without pain; or you could use sedation anesthesia, where an anesthesiologist will sedate the patient intravenously, this limits the level of consciousness and will not feel pain. The Dentist must also apply local anesthesia.

During the extraction of the wisdom tooth, the Oral Surgeon follows a series of guidelines to perform a good procedure:

• Make a scalpel incision in the tissue so that the tooth and bone are exposed
• Remove the bone that is above the wisdom teeth
• You can divide the wisdom teeth into parts for easier extraction.
• Clean the place where the wisdom tooth was to remove the remains of the tooth and bone.
• Suture the wound to help with healing, although this is not always necessary
• Apply pressure with a gauze pad to the extraction site to control bleeding and form a clot.

Post-surgery care

The patient must follow some care for prompt healing. You should not spit or rinse for the first 48 hours to prevent clot displacement and prevent bleeding; If you have pain, you should take the prescription drugs and apply ice in the first 48 hours to reduce pain and inflammation; The patient will be incapacitated for a few days, so it is important avoid exercise and effortsat least for a week.

It is also recommended for at least 48 hours to follow a bland diet so as not to strain the jaw; the Mouth cleaning It will be avoided during the first 24 hours, then you can brush your teeth but without spitting or rinsing for 48 hours. It is important that the patient has a clean mouth to maintain the healing process without infections; Approximately after 8 days you should have a control where the suture will be removed and visualize the healing process to observe its evolution.

What happens if I don’t take them off?

A series of oral problems can occur; if they do not come out completely because they are retained, they can produce cysts that damage neighboring molars, due to their anatomy and location, it is difficult to perform good oral hygieneso infectious processes can occur in the gum and bone and cavities can occur in the neighboring molars, also due to the pressure exerted by the wisdom teeth and not finding space, creates crowding on teeth and molarswhich affects its position.

The decision of Extract Wisdom Teeth or Wisdom Teeth It is not always clear, so it is extremely important to talk to the professional about the position and health of the wisdom teeth, to know what is best in each situation.