It is never too early to plan anything, like setting money aside for your children’s college tuition or planning the next family vacation to Japan. After all, early planning never hurts, right? Well, when dealing with impacted wisdom teeth, it is generally best dealt with early on than late.
A wisdom tooth, also known as the third molar, is often extracted to either to correct a problem or to prevent any potential issues from occurring in the future. Some people have all four, less than four, or more than four wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth usually erupt in your late teens or early twenties. While some wisdom teeth erupt normally with no hint of impact to neighboring teeth, other wisdom teeth can erupt sideways and cause all sorts of trouble for these other teeth. When the growth of a wisdom tooth is detected early on, extraction of the tooth is much easier. Scheduling the extraction before the tooth has had a chance to fully develop will likely ensure an easier wisdom teeth extraction process. When fully developed, nerves and the impact to neighboring teeth can make the extraction much more difficult.
Planning for a wisdom tooth extraction early on will allow individuals to better prepare for certain issues that may potentially arise if the tooth is not erupting normally. Many times, people may find that wisdom teeth just simply do not have enough room to come out and as a result, will “come in” sideways. Researchers believed that wisdom teeth used to be helpful in chewing when our jaws were much bigger. A cosmetic dentist can help you remove them if you need them to be extracted.
If you have had braces, your orthodontist may recommend that you remove your wisdom teeth to prevent it from potentially disrupting your new smile. Otherwise, a wisdom teeth extraction is not necessary if they are not impacted and have room to grow. However, since wisdom teeth are so far back in the mouth, it can be quite difficult to clean. Thus, it remains critical that one practices good oral hygienic habits to prevent decay-causing bacteria from harboring in the back of the mouth.
As we go through life, we learn that prevention and early detection is important to situations like wisdom teeth removal. Although wisdom teeth can erupt with no problems for some people, others may find themselves in a not-so-lucky situation. And thus, wisdom teeth extraction is available to those needing to remove the problematic teeth. They say that with age comes wisdom, so it is wise to remove the tooth before it is too late.