Facts to Know about Wisdom Teeth
Your mouth goes to many changes in your lifetime; one dental milestone is the appearance of your wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth are the third molars that usually appear in ages between 17 to 21. These extra molars can be beneficial for chewing if they are healthy and come in the right position. The problem arises when the wisdom tooth doesn’t have enough space to come in or is in the wrong posture. This is also called impacted wisdom teeth means that your wisdom teeth are not in the right position and can cause complications. Let's learn more about wisdom teeth, the evolution, the procedure and How much does it cost for wisdom teeth removal? Read on:
Evolution of wisdom teeth
Wisdom teeth have been around for millions of years. Our ancient ancestors use the same as we use other eight molars to grind up food which was especially handy before the advent of cooking around seven thousand years ago when our diet consisted of raw meat and plants which were fibrous and tough to chew but once we got our hands on softer and cooked food our powerful jaw didn’t need to work too hard, as a result, our jaws shrunk. The problem that arises is that the genes which determine the size of our jaws are completely independent of the genes that determine how much teeth we grow, so as our jaws receded we still kept all our 32 teeth.
Issues with wisdom teeth
By the time the wisdom teeth grows the chances are that all the other 28 teeth have taken all the accessible space in our mouth. In that case, instead of growing like a normal tooth, it gets trapped and grows in an odd angle causing complications like
● Pain and swelling.
● It causes a narrow crevice between the teeth where food can easily stick in.
● Infection.
● Tooth decay.
● Gum disease.
● And even tumours.
Wisdom teeth removal
With all that said, let us come up with the question of wisdom teeth removal. When it should be done? Can we delay it? and How much does it cost for wisdom teeth removal?
Well, wisdom teeth usually grow in adulthood and 38% of the people don’t even develop all four of them. Sometimes removing the wisdom teeth is unnecessary, because some people with larger jaw have space to accommodate extra teeth. Some just being scared from the wisdom teeth decides to remove it which is wrong.
Wisdom teeth removal cost
To answer the question, how much does it cost for wisdom teeth removal? The answer is, wisdom teeth removal cost is something close to this:
Each year five million Americans get their wisdom teeth removed which cost about three billion dollars in total medical cost, but for many, it is worth it. Individually speaking a person can spend up to $75 to $200 for removing a single wisdom tooth. Impacted wisdom teeth cost about $225 to $600 per tooth. To prevent having these bills on your counter you should take some precautions and should know when to remove it and when not to.
When to remove the wisdom tooth: Wisdom tooth should be removed when it starts growing. It should only be removed when the following symptoms arise
● Jaw pain or swelling
● Red or swollen gum
● Bad breath
● Unpleasant taste in the mouth
● Problem chewing
● Cavity in molars
If you feel any of these symptoms in your early adulthood, you should see a dentist but taking precautions and removing it, when the symptoms are not even there yet can cause nerve damage which can disturb your pain reception.
Measures to take before your removal: There are some measures that you can take to make the removal of your wisdom teeth easy for both you and your dentist. Following are the steps that you should take:
● Always arrive early in your appointment about 45 hours before your procedure starts
● You have nothing to eat before midnight the night before your procedure. You can drink only water or apple juice or anything transparent.
● You need proper transportation, accompanied by a guardian or a friend above 18 who can safely drive you back home from the clinic
● Always visit the toilet before visiting your doctor as it saves time and helps you ease your anxiety.
Dangers of Ignoring Wisdom Teeth Pain: In quite a few cases, patients don’t have wisdom teeth extracted because they do not have a result on the rest of the teeth or jaw. Alternatively, these molars will keep growing until they cause dental issues for most people in addition to the pain and discomfort described earlier. In elaboration to pressure caused by the wisdom teeth on gums, it can result in numbness in your jaw and face making it difficult to speak and eat. Because most wisdom teeth do not grow perfectly straight, infections, irritation, cavity, and severe gum disease can take place which can lead you to have a root canal.
Potential Complications Of wisdom tooth removal
Complications after simple removal of wisdom teeth are rarely inferred but there are some problems that can happen such as
● DRY SOCKET. Dry socket is a common complication that occurs when the blood clot does not form after the tooth removal or the blood clot that had formed dislodges. Without clot formation, healing will be delayed. When it happens the patient may experience mild pain accommodated with bad odour. The dentist treats this condition by applying medicine on the socket. It is usually healed within a week.
● PARESTHESIA. It is a rarer complication of wisdom teeth extraction. Wisdom teeth oppress in the jawbone are often near the nerves. Occasionally these nerves can be bruised or damaged during the tooth extraction process. The result is a numbness of the tongue, lips, or chin that can last a few days, a week, a month, or it might be permanent depending upon the damage.
Also to conclude at the end, let us assure you that wisdom teeth have nothing to do with your wisdom (as it is assumed) making you consider why you haven’t grown it yet. It’s just that these mature much later as we age and when people are probably ’wiser’ than as in childhood. We have included many details in the articles, such as how much does it cost for wisdom teeth removal, and the information about wisdom teeth, we hope you had a good read.
