Wisdom teeth are well known for the orthodontic and dental problems they can cause, and a high percentage of people end up getting theirs removed. Generally it is smart to get them removed at an early age because of the fact that they have not yet erupted and started causing problems. It is also a good idea because the younger you are, the faster you will recuperate from surgery.
The very first thing that will probably happen in the whole process is your orthodontist taking an x-ray of your mouth. He/she will then take a look at your wisdom teeth and let you know how they are forming. He/she will either inform you that your wisdom are growing straight upward and will erupt into a healthy position, or that they are impacted. Impaction basically means they are growing in any other way but upwards. The teeth may be growing away from your back molars, parallel to the gum line, or angled inward towards your molars. In all these cases you have two choices, the first one being removal and the second being just letting them grow out and facing the potential consequences.
In my case (Erik), I had the teeth growing at an angle into my back molars. This is called a mesioangular position. Because of this, my orthodontist sent an x-ray to my dentist suggesting I get them removed. I then set up an appointment with her to have her take a look. She gave me a letter of recommendation to an oral surgeon since I consented to getting them removed.
The removal of your wisdom teeth comes in two stages. First is the meeting with your oral surgeon. The point of this is generally to give you all of the information that you need to plan around the surgery and to set up the date of the surgery. Second is the day of the actual removal.
When I got into the surgeon’s office on the day of my dental exam, a nurse led me to a room in the back and played about a 7 minute video about the logistics of wisdom teeth removal and gave me a pamphlet that listed essentially the same information. The sections that are relevant to this post were as follows,
1. The dental anatomy and development of wisdom teeth: This section basically had a diagram of the mouth and nasal area, and had information about how long it takes for wisdom teeth to develop and the age stages in which they grow.
2. Problems with impacted wisdom teeth: First the obvious crowding of the mouth (which is the main reason why I decided to get mine removed) when the wisdom teeth come in sideways, resulting in the forcing of other teeth out of their aligned position. Other problems included gum infection and disease, tooth decay, and cysts/tumors.
In the next part, we will discuss the prep time before the operation and the removal of the wisdom teeth itself.
-Erik and Amanda
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