Wisdom teeth removal is a rite of passage for many adults. However, you may not know why removing wisdom teeth is necessary. Today, we want to shed some light on why wisdom teeth removal is important and what can happen if wisdom teeth are not removed or cared for properly.
What Are Wisdom Teeth?
Your wisdom teeth are your four furthest back molars in your mouth. They tend to develop slowly and erupt during adolescence and early adulthood. Most scientists believe that wisdom teeth are an evolutionary legacy from our ancestors, whose diet of rough, coarse food like nuts, leaves, and roots, required more chewing power.
What Can Happen If I Don’t Get My Wisdom Teeth Removed?
Unfortunately, wisdom teeth often don’t fully erupt from gums or may not erupt at all. In many cases, the main motivation to remove wisdom teeth is to avoid any potential issues with eruption. If left to their own devices, wisdom teeth may only partially erupt. This provides the bad bacteria in your mouth with space to grow and develop, often causing infection. Other times, wisdom teeth grow in crooked. This can cause a shift in your surrounding teeth, issues with your bite alignment, or even permanent damage in neighboring teeth.
How Does Wisdom Teeth Removal Work?
Wisdom teeth removal is a relatively simple, common procedure. In most cases, removal only requires a single visit and a follow-up appointment to ensure that your mouth is healing correctly. Recovery lasts for a few days, but you should be feeling back to normal in less than a week.
We hope that this shows the importance of properly caring for your wisdom teeth. If you and your family want to learn more about wisdom teeth removal or wish to schedule your next visit, contact our dental office today!