impacted wisdom teeth / wisdom tooth extractions

At what age should wisdom teeth be extracted?

If a dentist can clearly ascertain that there are good reasons to remove a wisdom tooth, then it is usually best to go ahead and have it removed as soon as is reasonably possible. While there are no hard and fast rules regarding a specific age by which a person's wisdom teeth should be extracted, as a rule of thumb, the younger in age a person is when they have their wisdom teeth extracted the fewer the number of complications they experience.

If wisdom teeth can be removed in a person's later teens or early twenties there is a greater chance that the roots of the teeth will not yet be fully formed and the bone surrounding the teeth will be less dense. Both of these factors will make the extraction go easier. (Possibly the best time to have wisdom teeth extracted is when their roots are about one third to two thirds formed.)

Also, it seems that as we age we are simply less resilient. The healing process is usually more of an ordeal for "older" people than "younger" persons. Studies have shown that complications related to the extraction of wisdom teeth increase significantly as patients passes into their mid to late 20's.

What are the common complications and risks associated with wisdom teeth removal?

A very important part of your dentist's pre-extraction examination will involve a discussion with you covering the potential risks and complications related to having your wisdom teeth removed. Some of the complications which dentists usually discuss are given below.

Dry Sockets

One of the more common complications experienced with wisdom tooth removal is that of developing a "dry socket". It is thought that dry sockets occur when either a blood clot has failed to form in the extracted tooth's socket, or else the blood clot that did form has been dislodged and lost. Since the formation of a blood clot is an important part of the healing process, healing is delayed.

The typical dry socket is a dull pain that doesn't appear until three or four days after the tooth has been extracted. The pain can be moderate to severe. There is often a foul odor associated with this condition.

A dry socket needs to be treated by your dentist. Commonly a dentist will place a medicated dressing in the dry socket that soothes and moderates the pain. This dressing is usually removed and replaced every 24 hours until symptoms subside. Dry sockets are found to occur more often in women (even more so in those taking oral contraceptives), persons over the age of 30, and smokers.

[Dry sockets are also discussed on our Tooth Extraction pages.]

Paresthesia

A less frequently occurring complication associated with the removal of wisdom teeth is that of "paresthesia". Wisdom teeth can be positioned in the jaw in a manner in which they lie in close proximity to nerves. Sometimes during the process of extracting a wisdom tooth these nerves can be bruised or damaged. As a result, numbness of the tongue, lip, or chin may occur. (Having this condition is termed "paresthesia".)

The sensation of paresthesia can be similar to that feeling you have when a dentist uses an anesthetic to "numb up" a tooth, only instead of disappearing in a few hours the numbness persists. Usually paresthesia is temporary, lasting days, weeks, or a few months, however if a nerve has been severely damaged the paresthesia may be permanent.

A hope of avoiding the complication of paresthesia is one reason why dentists suggest that wisdom teeth be removed when a patient is "young". As humans age on through their twenties the roots of their wisdom teeth continue to form and develop, making the teeth more difficult to extract without disturbing surrounding tissues (like nerves). The incidence of nerve damage for wisdom teeth removal runs as high as 10% after the age of 35, whereas it is rare for teenagers.

Impacted Wisdom Teeth:

• Page 1
  What are impacted wisdom teeth?
  What are the classifications of impacted wisdom teeth?
  
  
• Page 2
  Why should impacted wisdom teeth be extracted?
  
  
• Page 3
  At what age should wisdom teeth be removed?
  What are the complications and risks associated with impacted wisdom teeth removal?
  
  
• Page 4   The wisdom tooth extraction process.
  What to expect.
  Numbing the wisdom tooth.
  Sedating the patient.
  Post extraction recovery.
  
  
• Page 5
  How much do impacted wisdom teeth extractions cost?