Wisdom Teeth Removal in Carrollton, TX

Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth extractions are a common oral surgery. And it is an outpatient procedure, meaning you can go home on the same day that you have the procedure. Ideally, you should have four wisdom teeth, one on each side of both jaws, emerging sometime between the ages of 17 and 25. For some, erupting wisdom teeth can be painful.

Signs to note include:

  • Pain localized from behind your existing molars, near the back of your mouth
  • Feeling or seeing the enamel of the wisdom teeth pushing through your gum line
  • The part of the dental arch where wisdom teeth should be is becoming swollen, tender, and red that said, in certain cases,
  • you may not notice any visible symptoms related to wisdom tooth pain
  • you may only experience wisdom tooth pain when you eat or touch the gum area
  • you may only experience wisdom tooth pain occasionally

Meaning, you may not be aware you have impacted wisdom teeth until a routine dental examination, or updated radiographic images are taken. Regardless, it’s crucial to have them checked, to ensure a plan is in place for the next course of action.

Impacted Wisdom Teeth

Tooth impaction is a term to describe a tooth failing to grow out fully within the expected developmental window. The most common cause of wisdom tooth impaction is inadequate space. However, it may also not erupt due to adjacent teeth, excessive soft tissue, overlying bone, or a genetic abnormality.
Wisdom Teeth of the lower jaw are more likely to be impacted than those of the upper jaw. Impacted wisdom teeth are almost always removed.

Types of impacted Wisdom Teeth

  • Soft tissue impaction- Crown of the tooth emerges from the bone, but the gum still covers a portion of the tooth.
  • Partial bony impaction-The tooth erupts partially, but a part of the tooth remains in the jawbone.
  • Complete or full bony impaction- The entire tooth is within the jawbone.

Related wisdom teeth complications

If impacted wisdom teeth are left untreated, they may lead to or be a factor in the development of harrowing dental complications such as:

  • Teeth shifting; causing adjacent teeth to shift which may be painful or be associated with bite irregularities
  • Irritation of gum tissue
  • Dental cavities and periodontal disease
  • Cysts and tumors; impacted wisdom teeth may play a part in the formation of cysts or tumors that destroy the bone and surrounding gum tissue
  • Jaw expansion and bone loss
  • Negatively affect orthodontic work by causing teeth to shift from alignment

Wisdom Teeth Infection

Wisdom teeth infection often affects partially erupted or impacted teeth if left untreated. Possible complications could arise if not treated Immediately.

Symptoms of infected wisdom tooth

  • Red, swollen, and painful gum tissue around the wisdom tooth and last visible molar
  • Bad smell and taste
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Intense earache caused by the swelling placing pressure on adjacent structures which can radiate to the ear
  • Fever or chills
  • Jaw muscle spasms
  • Pus may ooze or drain from the area

Wisdom Tooth Removal: Making A Choice

Why get your wisdom teeth removed? Waiting for poor development of a wisdom tooth to run its course would only mean a more complex, harder, costlier, and substantially more painful procedure in the future This is because the risk of surgical complications increases with age, as the tooth grows, fuses with bone, and becomes tougher to remove. And this is besides the risk of developing an infection, dental cavities, or some other dental condition that jeopardizes the health of adjacent teeth and by extension your recovery health as well.

Wisdom Teeth Surgery

The first step is a consultation, this is necessary to go over the process, preparation, and discuss other pertinent information. You’d want to share:

  • any health conditions you have
  • any drugs you take regularly
  • any questions you may have concerning surgery

You’d also have to undertake a pre-extraction exam, which would amongst several things, help in the formulation of a treatment plan; ascertain what preparation, surgery, and recovery would entail; as well as cost.

Furthermore, you would discuss the type of anesthesia you’ll have and get recommendations on how to plan time off work or school after surgery. The wisdom teeth removal procedure begins with anesthesia to make it painless. You’d be recommended to have one of two types of anesthesia depending on your comfort level and complexity of the process.

  • Local anesthesia. You’d be awake during the procedure, but you wouldn’t feel any pain. You may feel some pressure though. This is because only the surgical site is numbed.
  • Sedation anesthesia. Unlike the local anesthesia, sedation anesthesia is administered through an IV (intravenous) line in your arm. The effects include not feeling any pain, suppressing your consciousness with only having limited memory of the procedure, and feeling drowsy or falling asleep. Sedation anesthesia is used in conjunction with local anesthesia to numb your gums.

Recovery, Pain Management, and Aftercare

Post Op recovery

Relates to measures you should take within the first 24 hours following surgery.

Bleeding:

  • Place a piece of clean, moist gauze over the empty tooth socket and apply pressure. You may apply pressure by placing your fingers over or biting down on the gauze pad consistently for about 45 minutes.
  • Alternatively, use a moistened tea bag. Tea contains tannic acid that helps in the formation of blood clots.

Pain management:

You can use over the counter (such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen) or prescribed analgesics to combat the pain. Additionally, antibiotics will be prescribed.

Swelling:
Facial swelling near the surgical site is possible. To get the swelling down and to limit discomfort, use an ice pack. You’d typically have to apply ice packs to the outside of your mouth intermittently (you leave it on for 20 minutes and remove it for 20 minutes.)

Food and beverages:

  • Take only liquids until the numbness from anesthesia wears off
  • Afterwards, stay on a soft food diet
  • Avoid drinking carbonated beverages or Alcoholic Beverages
  • Avoid eating foods such as peanuts, popcorn, and pasta that may leave particles in your socket. This is to avoid dislodging the blood clot.
  • Do not engage in any “sucking” action (a straw)
  • Avoid hot liquids

Oral hygiene:
You may be instructed not to brush, floss, rinse, or spit for the first 24 hours. Follow received instructions strictly.

Aftercare

Refers to tips you should take after 24 hours.

Diet:

Maintain a soft food diet.

Oral hygiene:

You may resume brushing, but likely not on teeth adjacent to the surgical site. You will also be instructed to rinse gently with warm saltwater. Follow received instructions strictly.

Other tips:

  • Avoid smoking or using tobacco products
  • Core recovery takes up to one week
  • Complete healing of the gums takes up to four weeks

Wisdom Teeth Dry Socket

Also called alveolar osteitis, it refers to a complication where blood clot is dislodged prematurely or fails to form in the extracted tooth socket. The lack of proper clot formation delays healing.

The exposed bone along the extraction socket can become inflamed and painful. Other symptoms include

  • bad smell or taste
  • constant throbbing pain
  • swollen lymph nodes in the neck area
  • low-grade fever

Why us?

Experience a Dental procedure like no other here at North Texas Dental Surgery Wisdom Teeth and Implant Center. Find not only a dental home but a dental family. With the highest quality of dental care from a Board-Certified specialist who had 3 additional years of training to master his craft of Dental Surgery. We take pride in our work and pride in our patients, come adventure through this revolutionary change in dentistry.