Impacted Wisdom Teeth

The wisdom teeth, or third molars, grow at the back of your gums and are the last teeth to come through. Most people have four wisdom teeth, one in each corner.

Due to the lack of space, the wisdom teeth can sometimes emerge at an angle or get stuck and only emerge partially. Wisdom teeth that grow through in this way are known as impacted. At our London Dental practice, we can remove impacted wisdom teeth getting you out of pain in one hour. If your wisdom tooth is infected, our emergency dentist might need to treat the infection with antibiotics prior to attempting the removal of the wisdom tooth.

Impacted wisdom teeth

There are different types of impacted wisdom teeth, depending on the way the tooth has grown through:

Mesial impaction – where the tooth grows at an angle facing towards the front of the mouth

Vertical impaction – where the tooth is straight but can't break through the gums properly because it's stuck against the tooth next to it

Horizontal impaction – where the tooth grows horizontally

Distal impaction – where the wisdom tooth grows away from the tooth next to it and becomes lodged in that position

The removal procedure

The dentist at our London Dental practice will take an X-ray of your wisdom teeth to help determine whether or not they need to be removed. If they do, the dentist may be able to carry out the procedure or they may refer you to an oral surgeon.

After your wisdom teeth have been removed, you may experience some swelling and discomfort, both on the inside and outside of your mouth. This is usually worse for the first three days but it can last for up to two weeks.

Your jaw may be stiff and sore and your face may be bruised. The bruising will begin to disappear, although it may take about two weeks to fade completely.

Anaesthesia

Before having your wisdom teeth removed, you'll be given local anaesthetic by injection to numb the tooth and surrounding area.

If you're particularly anxious about the procedure, your dentist or surgeon may give you a sedative to help you relax. This may come in the form of a tablet (diazepam or temazepam), or gas (nitrous oxide) that you breathe in through a mask. A numbing gel may also be rubbed into the area to be injected.

General anaesthetic (where you're put to sleep) is rarely needed. When wisdom tooth removal under general anaesthetic is needed, it is done in hospital.

Removing the wisdom tooth

If the tooth hasn't come through the gum, a small incision will be made in the gum to access it. A small piece of the bone covering the tooth may need to be removed.

The tooth may be broken into smaller parts to make it easier to extract through the opening. If the tooth has partially or fully broken through the gum, it will be easier to remove because there's less need to make an incision.

You'll feel some pressure just before the tooth is removed. This is because your dentist or oral surgeon needs to widen the tooth socket by rocking the tooth back and forth before taking it out.

Surgery to remove wisdom teeth shouldn't be painful because the area will be numb before the operation begins. However, if you begin to feel some pain during the procedure, tell your dentist or oral surgeon so that they can give you more anaesthetic.

After surgery

If an incision has been made, it may be necessary to use dissolving stitches to seal the gum. Your dentist will tell you if this has been done and how long the stitches will take to dissolve (usually 7 to 10 days).

Your dentist may place some gauze over the site of the extraction and 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, so try not to dislodge them.

For the 24 hours after removing your wisdom tooth, your dentist will advise you to avoid:

rinsing your mouth out with liquid
smoking and drinking alcohol
drinking hot liquids, such as tea or soup
lots of physical activity