Thousands of years ago, our ancestors used to eat uncooked meat, raw plant roots and use their teeth as tools for some daily activities! These particular uses of their jaws required stronger muscle and well-developed jawbones which in turn make more room available for all teeth to grow in; including a wisdom tooth.
As our diet changed to cooked and softer foods our jaws downsized but for some reason, our teeth did not. This discrepancy made it quite common for modern humans to have crooked teeth. But for many of us, it went as far as not having enough room for a wisdom tooth to grow into the mouth at all.
Reason To Remove A Wisdom Tooth
If a healthy wisdom tooth is fully erupted in the mouth, with no signs of cavity or gum disease, has proper contact with the opposing teeth, does not cause any discomfort and you are able to brush and floss it properly, there is no reason to remove it.
Unfortunately, rarely are all of the above conditions met. Most wisdom teeth don’t have enough room to grow into the mouth and they become partially or fully impacted in the bone. For those that erupt fully, many may erupt with a totally wrong angle which may jeopardize the health of the surrounding tissue or adjacent teeth. Pain, trapped food, cavity, bone loss, and development of a cystic lesion around the wisdom tooth are amongst a few of the problems that may arise. In many cases, the adjacent teeth don’t show any sign of pain or trouble until it is too late to salvage them.
When To Remove A Wisdom Tooth
The best time to remove an impacted wisdom tooth is when its roots are formed about ⅓ to ⅔ of their full length. Delaying their removal until after full development of their roots will cause complications and a higher risk of injury to your nerves and sinuses.
If Dr. Amin and Dr. Vaziri recommend removing your wisdom teeth sometime during or after your orthodontic treatment, the procedure will be handled by another member of our clinical team at AvA Orthodontics who is an experienced Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon.
Anesthetic Options
Local Anesthesia
Numbing your mouth with a shot of local anesthetic such as Lidocaine that is applied directly to the surgical area. You will be fully conscious throughout the entire procedure. You are going to feel the pressure but no pain. This type of anesthesia works best for the extraction of a fully erupted tooth. When it comes to a partially or fully impacted wisdom tooth, the best approach is to combine this method with IV sedation.
IV sedation
Also known as Monitored Anesthesia. It is a preferred method of anesthesia for most wisdom teeth surgeries. To perform, our surgeon administers sedative medicine through a vein in your arm. It will make you drowsy or put you to sleep during the entire procedure. This different level of sedation is possible by administering different cocktails of medicine. You don’t feel any pain during the entire time, and you won’t remember anything about your surgery afterward.