Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wisdom Teeth: Deciding to Take Them Out

Now although most teenagers know that around the ages of 15 to 16 they might get their wisdom teeth out. In fact most do. But here is why you, your parents, and your orthodontist would decide to take them out. You should probably ask some questions if your orthodontist/dentist are just telling you to take your wisdom teeth out without any reason.

Reason 1: Your wisdom teeth grow in between the ages 14 – 17 (approximately) and when they do, they can grow in perpendicular, sideways and every which way (described in post Wisdom Teeth Part 1 in more detail). This is especially true if you have had orthodontic work done. After braces, headgear, bands and the whole shebang, your teeth are probably in totally different places then their “natural” places. Since your wisdom teeth don't know that the rest of your teeth moved, they start coming into the place they would have fit into. Usually right into their neighbor teeth.

Reason 2: Sometimes even if your wisdom teeth are coming in straight or only a little bit crooked, they can hurt excruciatingly. This is caused by the fact that when the top of the wisdom tooth comes in it exposes sensitive nerves in your mouth. These are very sensitive. This is a big reason why kids get their wisdom teeth out.

Reason 3: Another issue for wisdom teeth is having them grow in infected. This is caused by unhealthy gums that lift away from the tooth enough to let bacteria in and thus you get decay on your new teeth. This is called pericorontis. See this link for more information http://www.animated-teeth.com/wisdom_teeth/t2-wisdom-tooth-infections.htm.
This can also cause reason 2.

Well hopefully this helps you and clues you in on some reasons you could be getting your wisdom teeth removed. This came up because one of our friends got her wisdom teeth out and the orthodontist looked at her x-rays after wards and pointed out it wasn’t really necessary.

-Amanda and Erik

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