By Aspen Dental
Did you know nearly 85% of people get their wisdom teeth removed? There are some whos wisdom teeth are positioned correctly and are healthy that don’t need to get them removed, but we can’t all be that lucky, can we? Your dentist may want to remove these teeth if keeping them will lead to crowding and impact your other teeth. We hope this article will enlighten you and answer some of your questions.
What are Wisdom Teeth and How do they Grow?
Most will receive their wisdom teeth between the ages of 17 and 21. The mouth can benefit a lot from wisdom teeth when they grow in properly, but they often get misaligned and need to be removed.
What are Impacted Wisdom Teeth?
While the regular teeth grow in their normal position, the impacted teeth don’t because there isn’t enough room. Teeth need space to grow healthy sturdy roots and most the time wisdom teeth don’t have the space they need so they sit on the surface of the gums. An impacted tooth could upset adjacent teeth when it leans into them, resulting in unbearable pain. When you don’t remove these impacted wisdom teeth, this is a prime spot for bacteria and plaques to live and breed causing problems down the road.
Does Everyone have Wisdom Teeth?
It’s interesting to note that not everyone has wisdom teeth; so, if you don’t have them, don’t fret. So how do you know if you have wisdom teeth? Pay a visit to your dentist and have him take an X-ray to evaluate and understand how the teeth are developing.
