How serious is an impacted tooth?

An impacted tooth may cause problems such as swelling, pain and infection of the surrounding gum tissue. It can also cause permanent damage to adjacent teeth, gums and the supporting bone structure. Rarely, an impacted tooth can lead to the formation of cysts or tumours that can destroy large portions of the jaw.

The tooth has not caused me any problems yet - must it be extracted?

Many times, problems with wisdom teeth occur with few or no apparent symptoms. No one con tell you when your impacted tooth will cause trouble, but it is possible that trouble will arise at some point in time. Waiting until it does cause trouble may result in more pain than necessary and may require more complicated treatment.

When should I have my impacted tooth removed?

An X-ray of the mouth is useful to help predict potential problems. Your dentist or an oral maxillofacial surgeon con frequently, from such X-rays, be able to predict if the wisdom teeth are going to cause trouble, either in the near future or later in life. If so, he is likely to recommend the removal of the wisdom tooth rather than wait for it to cause problems.

Specialists nowadays recommend that impacted wisdom teeth be removed between the ages of 14 and 22 years if they are likely to cause problems. Surgery is technically easier and patients recover much more quickly when they are younger. The risk of complications increases with age, and the healing process tends to be slower.