Why wisdom teeth…

So many of us have had to deal with “wisdom teeth surgery” (also known as third molars) and every generation seems condemned to the same fate.  But you may wonder why we have the third molars in the first place and is pain free wisdom teeth surgery really possible.

Millions of years ago when we were all hunter-gatherers we killed animal sand then dragged the meat to our caves to cook and eat it.  The meat got gritty sand in it and so we wore our teeth down gradually as we grew up.  With wear, the teeth get smaller, and so to keep the teeth all next to each other, as they got smaller, the teeth all moved forward in the jaws.  This meant that by the age of 25, we had more room at the back and hence the third molars had sufficient room to come through.  Nowadays, we eat a refined diet with little wear taking place to our teeth and therefore there is insufficient space to accommodate the third molars.  The result is they get stuck and cannot erupt.  We call this situation “impacted third molars”.

Do They Have To Be Removed

The question we get asked most about “wisdom teeth” is: “do they have to be removed?”.  The answer is  “No! Not necessarily”.  However, they do need to be assessed properly including an appropriate X-ray to make sure that those that need treatment get it.  Failure to remove impacted wisdom teeth can lead to several problems that include:

• Recurrent infection with swelling and pain
• Difficulty opening the mouth called “trismus”
• Bad breath called “halitosis”
• Decay of the back surface of the tooth in front of the wisdom tooth
• Cyst formation and bone destruction with secondary infection
• The development of a tumor associated with the forming wisdom tooth

The stories about wisdom tooth surgery are notorious and complete nonsense.  We’ve heard them all and we can reassure you that; No, you do not have to dislocate the jaw or break the jaw to get the teeth out. No, the dentist does not have to put his knee on you to pull them out.  In fact our dentist can’t get his knee that high!

Pain Free Wisdom Teeth Surgery is absolutely possible

Nowadays, wisdom tooth surgery is mostly done with the patient asleep as a day case.  Sometimes this is not required but still a patient can opt for what is called, “intravenous conscious sedation.  This involves the use of drugs given intravenously that shuts down your part of the brain associated with conscious thought and memory.  You will relax into a lovely dream-like state and become unaware of whatever we are doing to you and all anxiety is dispelled.  After you enter this dreamy state, you will then be given the injections of local anaesthetic and the surgery can then be performed.

When patients emerge from sedation, the usual first words they utter are “is it done yet?”. So don’t let the stories your friends tell you put you off.  They are just “good” stories!

contact the friendly team at NQ Surgical Dentistry today on (07) 4725 1656 or call in to see us at 183 Kings Rd, Pimlico QLD 4812