Extraction of wisdom teeth

The wisdom teeth or third molars are the most posterior in the tooth row and most often erupt last, usually after the age of twenty. Through evolutionary progress, the human jaw has been reduced, which was accompanied by a decrease in the number of teeth or by various genetic changes in some of them, most usually affecting the wisdom teeth. Apart from the fact that they often do have not enough room to erupt normally, they also can differ in shape, size, number of bulges or roots. Nevertheless, a large number of people still have wisdom teeth, but they very often cause unpleasant problems which can often be solved only by the ablation of the tooth causing them.

Even if they do erupt in their proper place, they are very frequently affected by caries because of their position in the jaw, which leads to the retention of food and difficulties in their cleaning. These teeth are often very inaccessible for repair and the treatment of their root canals is very demanding.

If the wisdom tooth has enough room for growth, but lacks the impulse for eruption, we call it an embedded wisdom tooth. Although it is located in the jaw, it has not broken through the mucosa and is not visible in the mouth. If it does not cause problems, the extraction of such a tooth is usually unnecessary, but opinions on this topic often differ among stomatologists.

Wisdom teeth are often retained or malpositioned in the lower jaw because of the lack of space for proper growth, which may further lead to the destruction of the bone or surrounding teeth and cause inflammation and pain. These are the signs that a surgical procedure of removing the residual or retained wisdom teeth is required.

The extraction of wisdom teeth is not a complicated procedure, and it is usually done under local anaesthesia. After the procedure, there might be slight swelling, but this is normal and can be alleviated with cold compresses and analgesics.