West Indy Dentist Discusses Extracting Irregularly Shaped Wisdom Teeth
When a dentist suggests having your wisdom teeth removed, most people will wonder how long it takes to undergo the procedure and if it is any difference from a regular tooth extraction. The length of the procedure will be determined by several factors such as the patients age, their bone density, as well as the shape of the tooth and its roots.
Typically, the procedure can take anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes per tooth if the wisdom teeth have already erupted through the surface of the gum. However, if the wisdom teeth are impacted or have larger or irregular shapes, it may take longer to remove each tooth. In such cases, your dentist may even have to remove some of the surrounding bone structure to be able to get to the impacted wisdom tooth.
When a patient has an “impacted” wisdom tooth, it means that the tooth has not yet broken through the surface of the gums and will require that you dentist do a little bit more work to remove the tooth. Furthermore, there is a large nerve near our wisdom teeth that your West Indy dentist will make sure to avoid damaging while extracting your wisdom teeth, which may take a bit more time, especially with older patients who are more prone to nerve damage.
For irregularly shaped wisdom teeth or wisdom teeth that are position almost horizontally, the procedure will typically go something like this:
1. Incision – The begin the procedure, your dentist will make a small incision along your gums to allow him or her to peel the gum away from the tooth that needs to be removed. At this point, your dentist will have already applied a local anesthetic and there should be no pain felt whatsoever.
2. Section – If needed, your dentist will cut or section the tooth into individual pieces. This allows them to be able to work each piece individually and reduces the risk of causing too much trauma to the surrounding tissue.
3. Extraction – Once the tooth has been sectioned into smaller pieces, your dentist will begin to gentle tease each piece of the tooth out of your gums one by one.
Once the tooth has been completely removed, your dentist will stitch the gum tissue back into place. In most cases, your dentist will use dissolvable sutures which will disappear on their own and will not require any follow up visits.
It’s important to note that by not having your wisdom teeth removed, you’re at a greater risk of developing other problems later in life. This is especially true for wisdom teeth that are only partially erupted as this creates the perfect place where bacteria can get trapped, which can lead to an infection.
Therefore, if you still have your wisdom teeth, it’s important to talk with your West Indy dentist to see if he or she feels that you need them removed.
