Wisdom tooth treatment

For decades, dental professionals have believed that it is best to remove wisdom teeth. Dentists considered them evolutional remnants because with the human jawbone shrinking in size from generation to generation, soon there will be no space left for wisdom teeth in our dental arch. As orthodontics became more and more popular, wisdom teeth were usually removed to avoid endognathion (the congestion of teeth due to a small dental arch). On the other hand, however, some believe that we need everything we were born with. This approach encourages patients to avoid having their wisdom teeth removed at any cost, even if it makes their teeth congested causes tooth decay.

At Rock Rose Dental-Medical we believe that the truth is always in between. Every set of teeth is different and we have cannot make generalizations; in every case, we are looking for a solution that is in balance with our patient's individual physiology. To preserve dental health, the bite has to be balanced and all teeth have to be under equal pressure when chewing and they have to accessible for thorough cleaning. As a conclusion, there is no general rule whether removing wisdom teeth is necessary or not.

The appearance of wisdom teeth and their effect on oral anatomy varies greatly from patient to patient. Sometimes they grow out and push all other teeth forward. In other cases they grow outside the dental arch which makes them useless for chewing but makes patients bite the inside of their mouth often. Sometimes wisdom teeth don't even surface at all causing chronic pain (this is called an impacted wisdom tooth). Their position in the mouth also varies: in some cases, they are positioned horizontally or even upside down. Because of all these factors, the process of removing wisdom teeth ranges from simple tooth extractions to complicated dental surgeries. It could take anywhere from one minute to even an hour get rid of a wisdom tooth. How much pain is felt after removal depends on the length and complexity of the surgery. In many cases after quick and easy extractions, our patients don't even have to take painkillers and can go to work the next day. The removal of impacted wisdom teeth can cause jawbone-pain for up to a week.

Rock Rose Dental-Medical is highly experienced in wisdom teeth removal. Based on a single consultation and an X-ray image, we are able to determine the adequate process of removal. In more complicated and more painful cases, we may suggest our patience going under general anesthesia. Anesthesia leaves no memories of the surgery and can significantly reduce the pain after it. It is also possible to remove more than one wisdom tooth under general anesthesia.

Wisdom tooth removal

Our eating habits have changed; we don’t eat as large amounts of meat and raw food as our ancestors, therefore human jawbone is showing a generational decrease in size. There are less and less tooth germs in our jawbones, too. As a result, wisdom teeth show evolutional regression. Some of us have them, some of us have none at all. Some have one, while others have four.

When to remove?

• The most common reason is when the mouth is too small and there is no room for wisdom teeth to grow. In this case on X-ray images wisdom teeth are usually shown to be wedged into the bone.
• Even if they grow, usually it is impossible to clean them properly as there is no space for the toothbrush, and the plaque developing on the wisdom teeth's surface might damage the adjacent teeth, as well. In this case wisdom teeth are removed as prevention.
• Wisdom teeth have only partially surfaced, causing chronic inflammation and pain.
• There is a cyst around a wisdom tooth.

At Rock Rose, with the help of a group of highly skilled anaesthesiologists, most of these surgeries are carried out under general anesthesia.