Oral Surgery.

The removal of wisdom teeth is one of the most common surgical procedures carried out in the UK.

The wisdom teeth grow at the back of your gums and are the last teeth to come through. Most people have 4 wisdom teeth, although in some adults wisdom teeth may never appear.

Wisdom teeth usually grow in your late teens or early twenties and by this time there sometimes isn’t enough space for them in the mouth. This can cause them to emerge at an angle or only partially erupt and get stuck. This is known as an impacted wisdom tooth.

Wisdom teeth don’t usually need to be removed unless they are causing problems. The position of these teeth can sometimes mean they are difficult to keep clean, leading to a build-up of plaque in the area which can cause problems such as tooth decay and gum disease, among others, and may require intervention from your Dentist. Wisdom tooth removal is usually offered when other treatments haven’t worked.

Possible complications

As with any surgery, there are risks associated with removing a wisdom tooth. These include infection, delayed healing and “dry socket”, which is a dull pain in and around the extraction site, sometimes there is a bad taste or smell in the socket. These complications are more likely to occur if you smoke or don’t follow the aftercare advice given by the oral surgeon.

Before your appointment our oral surgeon will explain all of this to you. You will be told about the risks and associated complications and given detailed after-care instructions to follow at home.

Once a tooth is lost, the bone and gum will begin to recede. If you later decide to have an Implant fitted it may mean that the Implant would sit too high or the Crown would sit too low for your ‘bite’. A material can be inserted into the cavity to encourage bone re-growth. Over time, this will provide a sufficient amount of bone to support the Implant.

Sinuses are cavities inside the structure of our skull. When we lose a tooth, the bone around the root area starts to recede. This can lead to the sinus expanding into the tooth root area. If you choose to have an Implant there may not be sufficient bone to support it. Special material can be inserted to encourage bone re-growth and ‘lift’ the sinus. Over time, the bone will re-grow providing enough bone to support the Implant.