Are you experiencing oral pain due to the emergence of wisdom teeth? You must know that not all wisdom teeth cause pain but the ones that cause pain must be inspected by a dentist. Most often, wisdom teeth hurt because the gums around the top crown of wisdom tooth get infected and swollen. When that happens, you experience pain and find it difficult to control your jaw and open your mouth. When biting down, the pain may increase as your top tooth puts pressure on the swollen and inflamed gum.
While most people experience pain as wisdom tooth tries to push and come out, they are more apprehensive and terrified that the removal process of wisdom teeth will be more painful. Let’s find out if it is necessary to remove a wisdom tooth and whether wisdom tooth extraction is painful or not.
Why do we need wisdom tooth removal?
According to the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, about 60 and 85 percent of people in the country have had at least one wisdom tooth removed at some point in their lives. About 80 percent of people who don’t remove their wisdom teeth initially need to remove them later. But why do so many people need wisdom tooth removal? Let’s find out.
Though our ancient ancestors heavily relied on the third set of molars to chew and grind plant tissue, roots, and rough meat, modern diet options include softer cooked food. Thus, now, we don’t need wisdom teeth anymore. Our jaw has adapted and is now too small to accommodate all 32 teeth (including wisdom teeth). Thus, when they erupt eventually, the small jaw space leads to teeth crowding and impactions.
While, for some people, the eruption process of a wisdom tooth is not painful, most people experience pain as the gum becomes inflamed and swollen due to the pressure exerted by the top tooth above it.
When pain increases too much or other issues develop, people have to remove their wisdom teeth.
Does Wisdom Tooth Removal Hurt?
Generally, when wisdom tooth extraction is done by experienced dentists, the procedure is short and painless. Before starting the procedure, the dental surgeon uses an anesthetic to numb the area so that you don’t feel any pain or discomfort. You may feel only slight pressure when the tooth is gently extracted but will not feel pain at any point.
That said, if the gum needs to be lifted, the wisdom tooth is cut into sections before removal and the gum is stitched back into position so the patient doesn’t feel discomfort. All of this depends on the combination of sedation methods, dental techniques, and the expertise of the dentist.
If you want to know more about the tooth extraction treatment, contact us today.