Wisdom Teeth Removal
The team at Power Dental Practice have many years of experience removing wisdom teeth.
What are Wisdom Teeth?
The wisdom teeth are the last teeth to come through and are the furthest back in the mouth. Often they erupt between 17 and 25 years, but it can be considerably later. Some will come up uneventfully and may be able to remain in place, but others do not have sufficient space.
Common and good reasons to remove the teeth
- Teeth are “impacted” which means the tooth is coming up at an angle and is jammed against the tooth in front or the jaw bone
- Persistent pain or infection around the wisdom teeth
The problems this can cause are that the wisdom tooth may decay. It can damage the tooth in front because it is impossible to clean properly or because the gum becomes infected and painful.
Less common reasons for taking out wisdom teeth
- The possibility of orthodontic relapse
- For prevention before people begin a course of osteoporosis medication (which can cause complications at a later date)
Determining whether wisdom teeth removal is required
Your dentist will only be able to tell whether your wisdom teeth need removing by taking an x-ray which shows the roots and indicates difficult it will be to take out.
We remove most wisdom teeth at Power Dental Practice, but refer a small number of the most challenging to specialist Oral Surgeons.
There is always some risk of damage to surrounding tissues and nerves when removing wisdom teeth and your dentist will discuss this with you at you consultation. We are also happy for you to seek a second opinion because of the risks involved.
Your options for the procedure
When removing simple wisdom teeth a good number of people opt to simply have a local anaesthetic (numbing needle in the mouth). Many others will prefer to be sedated at our practice (sleep dentistry) by our anaesthetist. A small number will choose to have a full general anaesthetic which can take place in the Day Surgery in our building (Waratah Private Hospital). All of these options will be discussed at your wisdom tooth consultation
Recovery generally takes a few days, but varies a lot from person to person, as does the length of time pain-killers will be required.
