Not sure about losing your wisdom teeth? You're not alone!
Most often times, there is not enough room for all 32 teeth in an adult mouth. We start to monitor the development and spacing of the wisdom teeth in the teenage years with 16-17 years old being the most common age for removal. We remove wisdom teeth because they can develop at an angle (impacted) and will start to affect the 2nd molars. If we do not remove these teeth, impacted 3rd molars can lead to bone loss, infection, and can cause damage to the 2nd molars which could lead to the removal of these teeth as well. It is best to have the wisdom teeth removed as a teenager, but we also understand that does not always happen.
If your wisdom teeth were not removed in your teenage years, sometimes they remain in the bone and sometimes they are erupted into your mouth. We still continue to monitor these teeth and look for decay, bone loss, gum infection, and anything that can lead to further infection. When the wisdom teeth cause symptoms or start to affect overall health, we recommend removal regardless of age. It is important that we create a healthy enviroment that is easy to care for. Especially as our patient's age, other factors including but not limited to weakened immune systems, less dexterity, osteoporosis, and medications can contribute to compromised dental health. We want to make sure that the wisdom teeth do not add fuel to this fire so if we see potential risks of keeping wisdom teeth as patients age, we will recommend removal.
Falcon Park Dental Group has an Oral Surgeon that comes to the office. Our surgeon is able to provide sedation services and is contracted with all of the same insurances as the general practitioners in the office. We love providing this service for our patients in an environment that is already familiar and where our general dentists can work closely with our surgeon in order to make sure that our patients have optimal care. Please call us for your oral surgery needs!
