Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a separate specialty of dentistry that deals with cases of extraction of impacted wisdom teeth, cases of impacted canines, as well as cases of jaw cysts and tumors.
What is a wisdom tooth?
The wisdom tooth is the last molar in the row of teeth on each side, and it is called the wisdom tooth because it begins to appear at the age of 16 and its appearance is linked to puberty.
Do wisdom teeth always need extraction? And why?
The wisdom tooth is the last molar that begins to appear, and in most cases, there is not enough space in the jaw for the wisdom tooth to erupt, so it begins to press on the adjacent molar to appear on the surface of the gum, and at other times it remains impacted in the bones of the jaw.
If the wisdom tooth appears in the mouth with a complete appearance in a correct position, the patient does not need to remove it, but if it appears crooked or causes pressure on the adjacent molar, immediate remove is necessary.
Is there any harm from not extracting the buried wisdom tooth?
Impacted wisdom tooth may cause resorption of the roots of the adjacent molar and cause irreparable damage and may cause wisdom teeth to form a dentigerous cyst within the jaw bones.
Does wisdom tooth need an oral and maxillofacial surgery extraction?
This decision depends on the degree of eruption of the wisdom tooth in the mouth. If it is fully developed, fully visible and in its normal position, and in this case, the extraction is due to other reasons such as caries, periodontitis, in this case it is a normal extraction.
In the case of impacted or crooked wisdom teeth, the dentist resorts to a surgical extraction where he makes a small incision in the gums so that he can reach the tooth and remove it easily.
What problems may occur after a wisdom tooth extraction?
There are general surgical complications, such as pain, which is moderate pain and lasts for 24 hours and is easy to control using analgesics.
Bleeding, which may continue for two to three hours after the extraction, and bacterial infection may also occur at the place of the extraction and get a treat with antibiotics.
There are complications related to the wisdom teeth, which are rare complications, as damage to the jaw nerve may occur and the patient feels a sense of numbness in his tongue or lips.
Do all people have wisdom teeth?
More than 10% of the world does not have wisdom teeth, and the rest will have at least one wisdom tooth.
How many wisdom teeth?
The wisdom tooth is the last molar in the row of teeth on each side or the eighth molar. In the mouth of normal people there are 4 wisdom teeth for the jaws, but more than 10% of people have fewer wisdom teeth.
What is the problem of impacted canine?
The canine may not come out into the mouth and remain buried in the bones of the upper or lower jaw, and this affects the appearance of the teeth and may cause an eruption cyst or may cause damage to the adjacent teeth.
What is the treatment of impacted canines?
The best treatment for buried canines is orthodontics, where it uses orthodontic wires and brackets to expand a place in the jaw in which the canine appears.
