Most people have 3 adult molar teeth in each corner of their mouth. Your wisdom tooth is the third molar tooth that grows at the back of your mouth. Most people have 4 wisdom teeth - 1 in each corner.
Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to come through your gums. They usually appear between ages 17 and 25.
Wisdom teeth often do not have a lot of room to come through. They can sometimes appear at an angle or only part of a tooth might come through.
Wisdom teeth that grow through like this are known as impacted.
Some wisdom teeth do not grow into the mouth and are only discovered on x-ray. These are known as unerupted wisdom teeth.
Non-urgent advice: Contact your dentist if:
- your wisdom teeth are causing severe pain - do not wait on your regular dental check-up
The dentist will check your teeth and tell you if they need to be removed (extracted).
Wisdom teeth problems
Sometimes, wisdom teeth that are impacted cause dental problems. Food and bacteria can get trapped around the edge of your teeth, causing a build-up of plaque.
This can lead to:
- tooth decay (dental caries)
- gum disease (gingivitis or periodontal disease)
- pericoronitis - when plaque causes an infection of the soft tissue that surrounds the tooth
- cellulitis - a bacterial infection in the cheek, tongue or throat
- an abscess - a collection of pus in your wisdom teeth or the surrounding tissue because of a bacterial infection
- cysts and benign growths - very rarely, a wisdom tooth that has not come through the gum develops a cyst (a fluid-filled swelling)
Many of these problems can be treated with antiseptic mouthwash and antibiotics.
But if these do not work, you may need to have the affected wisdom teeth removed.
At your dental appointment
If your dentist thinks you may need to have your wisdom teeth taken out, they'll usually do an x-ray of your mouth.
An x-ray gives them a clearer view of:
- the shape of the roots of your teeth
- the position of your wisdom teeth
They may refer you to a specialist surgeon.
Talk to your dentist about the procedure and what is involved.
Before removal
You will usually get a local anaesthetic injection to numb the area around the tooth.
If you're anxious, your dentist or surgeon may give you a sedative to help you relax.
Sometimes you will need a general anaesthetic (you are put to sleep) for the procedure. If so, you will have your wisdom tooth removed in hospital. But you do not usually need to stay in hospital overnight.
Removing the wisdom tooth
If the tooth has not come through your gum, your dentist will make a small cut (incision) into your gum. They may remove a small piece of the bone covering your tooth.
They may also cut your tooth into smaller parts to make it easier to remove through the opening.
You'll feel some pressure just before they remove your tooth. This is because they need to widen the tooth socket by rocking your tooth back and forth before taking it out.
Surgery to remove wisdom teeth should not be painful because the area is numb.
The surgery can take anything from a few minutes to 20 minutes or longer. This depends on how complicated the procedure is.
After removal
If a cut was made, your dentist may use stitches to close the cut. These may be dissolvable. They usually disappear without needing to be removed.
Your dentist may place gauze over the area where your tooth was removed. They may ask you to keep pressure on it by biting your jaws together for up to an hour. This is to allow a blood clot to form in the empty tooth socket. Blood clots are part of the healing process. Try not to let them get dislodged.
For the first 24 hours after removal, you should avoid:
- rinsing your mouth out
- drinking alcohol and smoking
- drinking hot liquids such as tea or soup
- doing a lot of physical activity
After 24 hours, gently rinse your mouth following the instructions from your dentist.
Content supplied by the NHS and adapted for Ireland by the HSE
