Pesky Wisdom Teeth? – Ask Dr. Farooq Sorathia
Everything You Should Know About Pesky Wisdom Teeth!
Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars are the most notorious teeth when it comes to their growth and development. Sometimes, they may grow straight, grow sideways, backward, or don’t grow due to a number of reasons. A tooth can be obstructed from its eruption when there is another tooth in its path or eruption may be inhibited by a cyst or can be completely embedded in bone.
The tooth and jaw size lay in a delicate proportion during development and is mainly determined by genetics. However, it can be affected by environmental factors such as function, diet, and habits. Evolutionary studies done at Harvard at the department of Human Evolutionary Biology, show that the size of our jaws has reduced, because of the increased consumption of processed refined foods. Our ancestors’ diet would comprise of grains, roughage, and unprocessed foods. There is normal wear and tear on our teeth, during every function of the jaws, be it chewing food, or even something as simple as swallowing saliva.
When there is an inhibition of the teeth growing in their correct direction, they are called impacted teeth, which is quite common especially in the lower third molars. These teeth are usually surrounded by a flap of gum on the chewing surface of teeth. Many times, food gets stuck under the flap and is very difficult to clean with normal brushing and flossing techniques. As a result of this food entrapment, the bacteria feed on these food particles and produce inflammatory waste products which cause the overlying gum to swell up as a normal bodily response to inflammation. This condition is called pericoronitis. One can also experience bad breath, despite flossing and brushing daily, limited mouth opening, pain at the back of the mouth and pain when chewing. This gum covering the tooth is not elastic in nature, and therefore as it swells, it causes a lot of pain due to the tension experienced by the swelling. If this condition is not managed, the infection can spread to surrounding tissues and can be life-threatening if not dealt with.
Now we ask, what is the remedy to this? It’s best to visit your dentist to discuss options for the treatment of this condition. The dentist needs to assess the growth of the underlying tooth, and then discuss options for treatment. Treatment modalities may range from cleaning to surgical removal of the offending tooth.
