At what age do wisdom teeth appear?
Why are they called that?
By the age of 18, a person usually has all the permanent teeth. Only the so-called wisdom teeth grow later - at 18 - 25 years old. One person can grow all four wisdom teeth, another - two or one. And in some people, they are completely absent, and this is not considered a deviation from the norm. The appearance of wisdom teeth is not always painless. Sometimes they erupt with difficulty and press on the adjacent teeth, injure the surrounding soft tissues, causing inflammation. It is difficult for a person to open his mouth, chew, speak; the temperature may rise. In such cases, you should consult a doctor. Often, those whose wisdom teeth erupt painfully ask if they can be removed. This should not be done without medical indications. Any tooth, including a wisdom tooth, is better preserved. Besides,if in old age there is a need for prosthetics, they can be very useful.
Wisdom teeth
An adult has 32 teeth. The incisors and canines are located in the front of the mouth. On the sides of the canines are small molars (premolars) and large molars (molars). Each side of the jaw has three molars. The last third molars are the wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth appear on average from 16 to 25 years. Although they may not erupt, they may be in their infancy for a lifetime. There are four wisdom teeth in the oral cavity, one on the right and one left on each jaw.
What does a sunken wisdom tooth mean?
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Submerged in dentistry is a tooth that has not erupted completely and has not taken its place in the dentition. A cut is a tooth that protrudes above the level of the gums and reaches the antagonist tooth of the opposite jaw. The reason for incomplete eruption (immersion) is that there is not enough space in the dentition for this tooth, or the wisdom tooth has an incorrect inclination.
Immersed wisdom teeth in dentistry are subdivided according to the direction of immersion. According to the direction of immersion, wisdom teeth are divided into 4 types: medial, distal, horizontal and vertical.
The most common type of submerged wisdom teeth are medially submerged teeth. The term "medial" means that the wisdom tooth is tilted forward, towards the front teeth. The term "distal" means that the wisdom tooth is tilted posteriorly.
Wisdom teeth with vertical, horizontal, distal plunge are rare.
Wisdom teeth are also divided into tissue and bone immersion teeth.
If the tooth remains in the thickness of the jaw, does not appear on the surface, then they speak of "bone immersion". If it passes through the bone, but does not completely cut through the gum, then this is called "tissue immersion".
What problems can sunken wisdom teeth cause?
The following problems can occur due to wisdom teeth:
- Pericoronaritis
- Caries of the wisdom tooth
- Dystopia
- Damage to the roots of adjacent teeth
Pericoronaritis
Pericoronitis is an inflammation of the gums around a partially erupted tooth. This is the most common complication associated with the eruption of a wisdom tooth. The tooth erupts gradually. First, one of its tubercles appears, thus forming a gap in the gum, and the rest of the tooth remains covered by it, forming a hood. The hood around a partially erupted tooth is a potential site for infection. Due to the difficulty of cleaning, food debris and foreign bodies accumulate in this place and ideal conditions for the growth of bacteria appear, which cause inflammation of the soft tissues around the wisdom tooth.
Wisdom tooth caries
We already know that caries occurs on those surfaces of the teeth where plaque accumulates. Wisdom teeth are the farthest teeth and are often difficult for a toothbrush to access. Constant "under-cleaning" of plaque leads to its accumulation and the formation of caries. In addition, if a tooth is partially erupted, then it is located under the overhanging edge of the gum (hood), which also contributes to the accumulation of a large amount of plaque and prevents brushing.
Often the position of a wisdom tooth is such that it is difficult to clean the plaque between it and the adjacent tooth. In this case, caries can affect the contact surface of not only the wisdom tooth, but also the adjacent one.
Dystopia
Dystopia is an abnormal position of a tooth in the dentition, manifested by its displacement towards the cheek, tongue, or rotation around its axis. It is believed that when a submerged wisdom tooth erupts, when there is not enough space in the dentition, it puts pressure on other teeth, as a result of which they move and occupy the wrong position in the jaw.
Damage to the roots of adjacent teeth
As we have already mentioned, the wisdom tooth often takes an incorrect position in the jaw, up to its horizontal position in the bone. At the same time, he can, as it were, "lean" on the root of the adjacent tooth, and during eruption exert significant pressure on it. As a result, the root of the adjacent tooth begins to dissolve.
When should wisdom teeth be removed?
There are no clear age criteria for the removal of wisdom teeth. It is better to remove submerged wisdom teeth at a young age. the sooner they disappear, the lower the risk of complications associated with them. This is, firstly. Secondly, the younger the body, the easier various surgical procedures are tolerated and the faster healing occurs after removal. Thirdly, it is less traumatic to remove teeth in which the roots are not yet fully formed, and the surrounding bone tissue is less dense.
Extraction of a wisdom tooth
The first step in removing a wisdom tooth is pain relief. After anesthesia, the dentist proceeds to remove the submerged wisdom tooth. Because a submerged wisdom tooth can be located under the gum, and is covered with bone tissue; the dentist provides access to remove the wisdom tooth. To create access, the dentist cuts the gum, then removes the area of bone tissue located above this tooth.
In order to remove as little bone as possible, the dentist often divides the wisdom tooth into pieces when removing it. For this, dental burs are used. After separating the wisdom tooth, the dentist removes each of these parts of the tooth with special instruments.
After removing a wisdom tooth, the dentist places stitches on the area of the extracted tooth, because he cut open the gum and provided access for the extraction of a wisdom tooth.
Some types of threads, which are used to make these sutures, subsequently dissolve by themselves, and the dentist himself removes the dissolving sutures. Non-dissolving stitches are usually used - the process of removing them is very simple and painless.