The wisdom tooth is actually molar 3 and develops around the age of 17-25 years, but there are some cases in which they occur at over 30 years of age. There are people who can have 1, 2, 3, 4 or even more wisdom teeth , and people who have none.
Did you know that wisdom tooths have helped us for tens of thousands of years, having an extremely practical role, in our daily lives?
How did the wisdom tooth come about and what is it for?
In the prehistoric period, people needed an increased mastication power to be able to consume the foods that were part of their diet at that time: raw meat, nuts, roots and other hard foods. The wisdom tooth was necessary for mastication, and prehistoric people had other extra teeth that disappeared with time. Also the stature, bones and implicitly the jaws of people were of larger size.
Nowadays, people have changed their lifestyle and nutrition, and our body has evolved. Even the teeth and jaws have adapted to these new changes, the mandible, for example, is now smaller than the mandible of a prehistoric human.
Because of this process, in many people, the wisdom tooth no longer has room to grow straight or to develop normally. The development of a wisdom tooth, in these cases, can cause pain, crowding of the teeth but also other problems.
Now, because our food is much softer – the meat is cooked and easier to chew – mastication can also be done without the wisdom tooth, the wisdom teeth being considered relics of our evolution, and they are in the process of extinction, like other teeth that have existed today we no longer have them.
Does the wisdom tooth have to be removed?
To find out the answer to this question, you need to consult with your dentist, because not all people have to have to do an extraction of the wisdom tooth.
Around 25% of people do not have wisdom teeth or have not developed any problem that would require an intervention to extract them.
You will need an extraction of the wisdom tooth when:
- The wisdom tooth has not erupted completely (half of it is still in the gum), which can lead to the development of inflammation, gingivitis, abscesses, pains, caries or other complications; or when it erupted but in abnormal positions, tilted, tilted, tilted, affecting the inside of the cheeks or tongue.
- The eruption of the wisdom tooth can cause a crowding of the other teeth, cause changes in the way the teeth trample on each other and the smile becomes unsightly;
- Oral hygiene can be difficult to maintain due to the narrow and distant place where the wisdom tooth develops or it hinders the hygiene of the molar in front of it.
- The wisdom tooth causes pain, is decayed (or suffers from other conditions) and/or may affect other teeth.
Extraction of wisdom teeth is among the most common dental extractions – surely you have heard of a friend who has done this procedure in the past.
Your dentist can tell you all the details about your teeth – if you need an extraction of the wisdom tooth mole or it can be kept on the dental arch, if it exists, if it has erupted completely or incompletely.
Is a dental implant necessary following the extraction of a wisdom tooth?
A dental implant is not required when the tooth or wisdom teeth are extracted. The dental implant is necessary for the rest of the teeth, which have a functional role in the process of mastication.
Why do we finally remove the wisdom teeth?
- To get rid of pain and discomfort
- In order to maintain our hygiene correctly;
- To prevent or stop the sneezing of the other teeth or the injury of the surrounding soft parts
The wisdom tooth mole does not have a practical role in the process of mastication – for this reason, in general, there is no need for a dental implant to replace the “lost tooth”.
Following a mandibular X-ray, it will be observed if there are wisdom teeth and if there is a need for them to be removed.
If we have wisdom teeth that are likely to cause problems over time, it is advisable to act as quickly as possible, and perform their extraction as early as possible. This is recommended to be done around the age of 15-25 years. Extraction is easier when the bone is still elastic and the roots are not fully formed, but it can be done at any age if the situation requires it.
What to do if you feel pain in the area of the wisdom tooth?
We advise you to go to a consultation so that we can see exactly which are the best ways that we must follow. Even if you still do not feel pain, there is a chance that a condition will be developed or developing. Therefore, it is good to know what is the status of your wisdom teeth and whether or not you can develop complications in the future.
Recommendations for the extraction procedure of the wisdom tooth
It is the wisdom tooth that gives a lot of headaches to an extremely large number of people, especially when it does not receive the attention it needs. In order to avoid all complications, it is necessary to correctly determine when it needs to be removed and not to ignore the symptoms that this mask gives.
Causes and symptoms that determine the need to extract the wisdom tooth
The decision to remove the wisdom tooth is not the easiest to make, so it is recommended to visit a specialized dentist who can correctly examine its position and health. Thus, the dentist will decide what is best.
The problems that can determine the extraction of the “molar three” (the wisdom tooth) are generally related to the position in which it develops and to the way it erupts. From this point of view, there are several situations in which extraction is necessary.
You don’t have to worry that when you lose your wisdom tooth, it is rarely used by dentists for possible prosthetic restoration work. Problems from this point of view can occur, however, when untreated in time, it ends up irretrievably affecting the adjacent molar, for which we can lose it and then, in almost any situation, it will come to the need for a dental implant.
The wisdom teeth that partially erupt (semi included) and some of them remain under the gum must be removed. Because they are located in an area located most backwards in the oral cavity it is quite complicated for a person to be able to see what is happening there and so there is no way to properly sanitize in that area. It follows that a partially erupted mind molar can cause areas where certain remnants of food are retained. Because of this, certain gum diseases or certain oral infections may occur.
Wisdom tooths do not have enough space in which to develop. Because of this they will push the molars that develop around them and this is how the stray teeth appear. Also, the wisdom tooth can also damage the molars nearby and so all the teeth will be affected.
Complications that can occur if the wisdom tooth is not removed
There are several complications that can occur when the wisdom tooth is not removed in time. It does not present pain every time and you may consider that it is in good condition, but it is possible that this thinking is a wrong one. If the doctor recommends extraction but ignores his advice, it is quite possible, even to be expected, to face a series of complications.
Specialists explain that due to the possibility of frequently keeping food debris stuck near the gum, the area is very difficult to clean due to the way the mind table is positioned.
One of the most common results of this situation is the infection of the gum around the wisdom tooth, a condition that is called pericoronitis – this being one of the main reasons why a wisdom tooth will have to be removed. This infection can worsen and generate pain and inflammation and can cause serious health problems.
Another common effect is caries that can occur on the surface of the mind molar and on the teeth next to it. Cavities may not necessarily be medical emergencies in the first phase, but when it affects the nerve, specific pain sets in and a dental abscess can later form. The abscess in turn comes bundled with intense pain and the possibility of evolving towards life-threatening forms.
These are just a few complications that you can have because of a wisdom tooth that was not taken out in time, but in fact they can generate many more problems. The good news is that the wisdom teeth are not difficult to remove and in just 1-2 weeks you will be like new after such an extraction.
The key is to call the advice of a specialist in time, and follow him exactly, without delays or hesitations.