Contents:
- Medical Video: Decision Making About Pain Across the Lifespan Symposium
- What is tooth impaction?
- What causes tooth impaction?
- What are the symptoms of tooth impaction?
- Is it possible for dental impaction to cause complications?
- 1. Damage to other teeth
- 2. Dental caries
- 3. Gum disease
- How do you deal with the wisdom teeth that grow wrong?
Medical Video: Decision Making About Pain Across the Lifespan Symposium
Have you ever felt the growth of teeth, even though it was no longer your time to grow teeth? If so, this means the teeth that grow are your youngest molars. Some people who experience this teething experience pain that is quite disturbing. This condition is then known as tooth impaction. So, what causes tooth impaction? Is this dangerous?
What is tooth impaction?
Complete human tooth arrangement, generally has two molars. When a person enters the age of 17 to 25 years, it will usually begin to develop third molars, or commonly referred to as wisdom teeth. As for normal teething, wisdom teeth should grow straight up parallel to the other teeth.
However, this tooth can grow in the wrong direction, for example when it is trapped inside the gum or leads to a tooth next to it (see picture above). Well, this condition is then known as tooth impaction.
What causes tooth impaction?
Tooth impaction can occur when there is not enough space for wisdom teeth to grow properly. Some people experience tooth impaction because of their small jaws, while the size of teeth that grow is quite large.
This then causes wisdom teeth to get stuck and cannot get out of the gums. There are also those who suffer from dental impaction due to no space left, so that the teeth grow in the wrong direction.
The wrong wisdom teeth can lead to the next molars (molar teeth); towards the back of the mouth; grow tilted as if "lying" on the gums; or grow normally straight up, but are trapped inside the gum, not arising to the surface like other teeth.
What are the symptoms of tooth impaction?
Most cases of dental impaction can be very torturous, because the pain caused will usually last quite a long time and interfere. Especially when you chew food. Abnormal wisdom teeth growth can be suspected by symptoms such as:
- Feel pain in the area around the jaw
- Swelling appears in the area of the tooth that is sore
- Discomfort when chewing food
- Bad breath
- Difficulty when opening your mouth
- Bleeding gums
If you experience this condition, you should check with your dentist further.
Is it possible for dental impaction to cause complications?
Dental impaction may cause other problems in your mouth, such as:
1. Damage to other teeth
If the wisdom teeth grow incorrectly so that pushing the molars next to them, it will cause an infection in the area of the tooth. You need further treatment to the dentist to treat it.
2. Dental caries
The youngest molars that experience impaction can trigger the risk of dental caries. Because, this wisdom tooth will be more difficult to clean so that it easily accumulates, and causes tooth decay.
3. Gum disease
The wrong wisdom teeth growth will interfere with gum tissue around the wisdom teeth. In the end, it can potentially lead to infection and swelling. This condition is called pericoronitis.
How do you deal with the wisdom teeth that grow wrong?
Initially, the dentist will diagnose tooth impaction on wisdom teeth, by checking with X-rays or X-rays. X-rays are useful for showing if there are problems with the jaw, teeth, gums, and other areas of your tooth structure.
If you find abnormal teeth growth such as tooth impaction, the dentist will take further action.
Basically, the wisdom teeth that grow are normal. If the teeth can grow perfectly like other teeth, then no action is needed. However, if the wisdom teeth are not normal so that they cause tooth impaction, proper treatment must be given immediately.
Usually, the dentist or oral surgeon will advise you to extract teeth with a surgical procedure, which is called an odontectomy surgery. This operation usually won't last long, around 30-60 minutes, or depends on the difficulty of the operation.
No need to worry about the pain caused during surgery, because the doctor will inject an anesthetic before the operation.
