Impacted wisdom teeth – Retention of the tooth

Impacted Tooth (Unemerged Tooth; Dental Impaction)

What impacted tooth?

Impacted tooth – tooth, which can not normally be cut, as it is located too close to some other tooth, closed bone or soft tissues, that prevent it to reach its normal position in the mouth.

Causes of impacted wisdom tooth

Retention is characteristic of the third molars, also called wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth begin to develop around age 9 years, and are the most vulnerable to the retention, because it is the last teeth, which cuts, usually, Late adolescence and after 20 years. By this time the jaw stops growing, and wisdom teeth may not erupt because of the lack of space.

Risk factors for retention of teeth

Retention of teeth is very common. Factors, which can increase the risk of impacted wisdom teeth include:

• Genetic predisposition;
• The lack of orthodontic treatment.

Impacted wisdom teeth – symptoms

Some people with teeth retinatsiey not experience pain and discomfort. Other, retention teeth can cause:

• Pain or tenderness of the gums or jaw bone;
• Discomfort, when chewing molars;
• Bad breath;
• Redness and swelling of the gums around the impacted tooth;
• Long, unexplained headache or jaw pain;
• Difficulty opening the mouth.

Complications of untreated impacted teeth include:

• A cyst in the soft tissue beneath the gum;
• Caries;
• Skewness (bending) other teeth;
• Gingivitis – gingivitis, which can lead to infection;
• Destruction of bone or adjacent teeth.

Diagnosis of impacted wisdom tooth

Your dentist will ask about your symptoms and medical history, and perform inspection of the teeth. Tests may include:

• Visual inspection of the oral cavity, to look for signs of infection or tumor tooth;
• Dental x-ray of the tooth, to confirm retention.

Impacted wisdom teeth – treatment

If the impacted tooth causes no pain, inflammation, infection, and does not affect the development of other teeth, no treatment required.

Removal of impacted wisdom tooth

If there are noticeable symptoms, It is usually recommended to remove all Impacted teeth, preferably at a young age. The procedure can be performed under local anesthesia dentist, if the tooth can easily be removed. For complex cases, retention of teeth, your doctor may refer you to a dental surgeon. In these cases there may be used general anesthesia.

Oral Care in the presence of impacted wisdom teeth

To get rid of the painful symptoms, until the operation is performed to remove the impacted tooth, dentist may recommend:

• Taking pain, to reduce pain and swelling of the gums and teeth;
• Gargle with warm salt water, to reduce the swelling of the gums.

Prevention of impacted wisdom tooth

At the moment, there is no way to prevent impacted wisdom tooth.