The truth about wisdom teeth from your Newberg dentist
You’ve probably heard all kinds of advice on whether you should take your wisdom teeth out or leave them in. It’s difficult to know what to do, so Dr. Angela Toy at Arbor Hills Dental in Newberg, Oregon wants to help you decide what to do with your wisdom teeth.
You may feel your wisdom teeth erupting when you are between 17 and 25 years old. Some people don’t ever get wisdom teeth and other people get all 4 wisdom teeth. In rare cases, a person may actually have an extra set of wisdom teeth!
You may feel pain and pressure behind your second molars, and may have difficulty opening and closing your mouth because your mouth feels tight. Sometimes people have no symptoms at all from their wisdom teeth.
Dr. Toy will evaluate whether you should have your wisdom teeth taken out, based on a number of criteria including:
- Do you have space in your mouth to accommodate your wisdom teeth?
- Will you be able to easily clean your wisdom teeth?
- Are your wisdom teeth erupting straight and in-line with other teeth?
- Are your wisdom teeth completely impacted in bone so they will never erupt?
- Are your wisdom teeth causing you pain?
If you want to keep your wisdom teeth, Dr. Toy wants you to know some of the issues you might have, such as:
- Pain, pressure when your teeth erupt
- Difficulty opening and closing your mouth
- Crowding of your other teeth
If you do keep your wisdom teeth, you will have difficulty keeping your wisdom teeth clean because they are so far back. You may have decay or bone loss from periodontal disease which could affect your other teeth.
If you have wisdom teeth that are buried in bone (impacted) and you decide to leave them in, cysts can form around them, destroying bone in your jaw.
When you are deciding about your wisdom teeth, don’t make the decision alone. Get the help and advice of an expert like Dr. Toy. So call Dr. Angela Toy at Arbor Hills Dental in Newberg, Oregon today and find out more about your wisdom teeth!