Impacted Wisdom Tooth Removal Houston

When is a wisdom tooth impacted?

Most times the teeth happen to grow into a jaw which is large enough for them to fit into, but some people do not have sufficient space for their wisdom teeth, hence causing them to have impacted wisdom teeth. The third molars, mostly referred to as the wisdom teeth, are the last set to grow in arriving between the age of 16 and 21. What seldom happens is that the wisdom teeth either do not grow into proper position inside the mouth or they are buried under the gum line. When buried under the gum, it could be that they are covered only with gum or covered with partly or wholly.

Should Impacted Wisdom tooth be Removed.

An impacted wisdom tooth may or may not cause any problems at all. Infact, there are situations where it’s best to leave an impacted wisdom tooth and just monitor it because of the possible risk / complications if you remove it. If Our Dentist sees that your wisdom teeth may cause any problems and the pros outweigh the possible complications, we will recommend that you remove it as a preventive measure.

Signs and Symptoms of Impacted Wisdom Tooth

The wisdom teeth are of no real importance in our lives today since our diet now contains more of softer food and we are now able to cut chunks of food into smaller pieces that we can chew at once. Therefore, it is easy for you not to care about keeping your wisdom tooth. Most of the time, impacted wisdom teeth don’t cause problems but sometimes they do. Visit our Office (keem Smile Dentistry) on HWY 6 N Houston TX- 77084 to have your radiograph taken and a Doctor to check it and advise you as to what to do and the condition of the wisdom teeth. Common symptoms that can be experienced are as follows:

• Infection and swelling also known as pericoronitis. There is often a noticeable level of swelling, infection and pain that accompanies impacted wisdom teeth, and the circumstance should not be neglected. Considering the fact that the impacted wisdom teeth can cause harm to other teeth and bone around it, professional advice is strongly recommended because infected impacted wisdom teeth can affect your general health if left untreated.

• Wisdom Teeth Pain.  If you feel pain in your impacted wisdom teeth around the back of your mouth, you may need to get it removed especially when it’s become a recurrent thing. This may be because the wisdom teeth are pushing into the adjacent tooth and if not treated in a timely manner, you may lose the adjacent tooth. You may also experience some difficulty opening your mouth.

• Jaw tenderness
• Redness of the gum around/over it
•  Bad breath and bad taste.
• Jaw expansion is another sign/symptom that you can notice. Your bone will expand if you develop tumor from the impacted tooth. Weak bone that can fracture easily if a cyst should develop from the impacted tooth.

Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removal Procedure

Though the word “surgery” might sound a bit scary, impacted wisdom teeth removal surgery is relatively very safe and painless.  If your wisdom teeth is impacted and its starting to cause problems do not delay getting it removed because it could easily damage other teeth or an infection from the tooth could spread

Impacted wisdom tooth removal typically follows goes like this.

• First, Sedation is administered if the patient has chosen to be sedated for the procedure. If not, impacted wisdom teeth can be removed with just Local anesthesia.
• Doctor will proceed to numb the tooth extraction site and the relative tissues of the tooth with Local anesthesia.
• Once numb, the doctor will cut your gums open to expose the tooth.
• Once soft tissue is removed, If the tooth is covered by bone that will also be removed. It may also be necessary to remove some bone around the tooth to loosen it.
• The Doctor may decide to elevate the tooth as a whole or he may decide to section it and remove it in pieces, this will depend on the condition of the tooth and whichever the Doctor believes will be best for the Patient.
• Once the tooth is out, The soft tissue (gum) is stitched together, and the extraction site is packed with gauze to control bleeding and promote healing of the gum and bone.

 Impacted Wisdom Tooth Removal Cost Houston

An impacted wisdom tooth typically costs more than a fully erupted wisdom tooth; this obviously is because of the impaction and also the type of impaction. The cost of extraction for an impacted wisdom tooth can range from $250 – $500 in Houston TX. This is exclusive of other costs like sedation, exam and x-ray etc. Patients with some type of Dental insurance and have coverage for Oral surgery will pay less than those without Dental insurance depending on type of coverage.

Types of Impacted Wisdom Tooth

Our dentists will take x-rays before the removal of your wisdom tooth to get the exact location and position of the impacted tooth or teeth that will be removed. Impacted wisdom tooth removal can be one of four types depending on the condition of the tooth.)

Full Bony Impacted Wisdom Teeth

Completely Bony / Full-Bony Impacted wisdom teeth Removal. This is the most difficult of all wisdom tooth removal and that is because the wisdom tooth is wholly caught in the jaw.

Soft Tissue Impacted Wisdom Tooth

Soft-Tissue Impacted. The condition of this type of wisdom tooth is such that it is covered by gum hence soft tissue. This impacted wisdom tooth removal is not as complex as the ones listed above because the tooth is just stuck beneath or on the gum line.

Impacted Wisdom Tooth Partial Bony

Partial-Bony Impacted. As the name implies, this type of wisdom tooth is partly stuck in jawbone. It is easier to remove compared to full-bony.

Recovery After Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removal

Healing process after impacted wisdom tooth removal starts almost immediately with the formation of a blood clot to control the bleeding. This crucial process of clot formation in the socket takes about 48 hours. Healing can typically be broken down to two categories: soft tissue healing and hard tissue healing. Soft tissue healing typically consists of the gum and this will completely heal up within 1-6 weeks depending on the individual. Hard tissue healing encompasses the formation of bone to fill up the whole left behind by the tooth. This will take another 4-6 months. By now, new bone will have formed and matured. Then we can say healing is complete. Most patients will probably not feel anything once soft tissue healing is completed.

Do I Need to Be Put to Sleep for Impacted Wisdom Tooth Removal

You may have it removed under local anesthesia only or sedation with local anesthesia. Talking about sedation, it could be nitrous sedation (Laughing gas), oral sedation (sedative pills that patients take before the appointment) or IV sedation (intravenous injection given in the office before the procedure). Impacted wisdom teeth can be safely removed and pain-free with just local anesthesia. You do not have to be put to sleep just because it is an impacted wisdom tooth.

Do I Need to Take Time off Work for the Extraction?

It is best to take between 1-3 days off from work when getting impacted wisdom teeth removed depending on your nature of work. This is usually because of the potential for patients to swell up after surgical extractions of impacted wisdom teeth. The Dentist may have to remove some bone during the impacted wisdom teeth removal hence the swelling on the cheek.

Possible Complications after Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removal​

• Infection after an impacted wisdom teeth removal​ Possible Symptoms of infection after an impacted wisdom teeth removal includes. swelling of the face and jaw that will not subside or gets worse.  Fever is the body’s natural response to infection. Redness and tenderness of the gum around the extraction site. Bad taste within the mouth that will not go away or evidence of pus within the open socket. 

• Jaw Stiffness and Difficulty Opening
  Soreness around the jaw can cause pain when the patient tries to open their mouth post impacted wisdom tooth removal. We typically call this guarding. Patients having difficulty opening because it hurts when they do. Difficulty opening or Jaw stiffness leading to limited mouth opening could also be a result of the muscles of the jaw contracting or tightening and then stiffness a condition called trismus. Ice cold compresses on the extraction site every 20 minutes for the first 2-3 days after surgery may help with this.
• Paresthesia 
  Dental Paresthesia (Nerve damage) after impacted wisdom tooth extraction is a surgery complication. Pain, numbness or sensitivity of lips, tongue, mouth or face could be symptoms of nerve damage from pulled wisdom tooth.
• Jaw Breakage