Wisdom Tooth Demystified

Hello All,

         Over the last one month or so, i have been flooded with problems of people over twitter and my clinic mainly with one condition.. 

Wisdom tooth. So i decided to Demystify this condition for you a little bit.. 

Wisdom tooth: Why r they known as Wisdom tooth.. Simple reason is that it erupts at the age of 18 - 25 yrs when a person is supposed to attain wisdom.. Although eruption of this doesnt guarantee any wisdom.. :) 

It is the Last of the Molar teeth which are present in our mouths and they are total 4 in number..

Why there is a problem with them everytime.? Now as we have evolved over a period of thousands of years, our eating habits have also changed and so Nature decided to give us smaller jaws to do away with these wisdom teeth. So whenever a person has smaller jaw, these wisdom teeth shall not get a proper space for them to erupt and so hence the problem.. If we see the ratio now 30% of females dont have one or more wisdom teeth (Now that again doesnt mean they have less wisdom but just that they are more evolved ..:) )

What are the problems that can happen because of these wisdom teeth : 

There are various problems that can develop with these teeth majorly being Impaction or failure to erupt, Pathology such as cysts or ameloblastoma, decay, Posteruption malposition, Non function, Difficulty with hygiene which in turn damages adjacent teeth also and Pericoronitis (Inflammation of gums over the tooth)

Symptoms : The most regular symptom is PAIN... Its a throbbing kind of pain and lasts for days till intervention is sought by medications or by surgery. The medications temporarily relieve the pain but it usually keeps coming back after few months..

Treatment: 

For Partially erupted or Non erupted teeth the only treatment is Extraction. Extraction should be performed as soon as the dentist determines that the tooth is impacted. Removal of Impacted teeth becomes more DIFFICULT with advancing age with the bone getting dense and more complications coming in.

The dentist should typically not recommend leaving the impacted teeth in place until they cause difficulty.

When ultimately the tooth has to be removed, better get it done rather than waiting for more days..

Precautions as a patient:

Personally I would recommend to get the tooth extraction done by an Oral Surgeon Whos a specialised dentist (MDS) for all these procedures.

       As i always say with other dental treatment, Even Tooth Extractions DO NOT PAIN.. With anesthesia It is as easy a procedure as all others are.. After extractions there shall be some discomfort n some precautions to be taken which shall be explained by the dentist.

       Any other queries or doubts i shall be more than happy to clarify.. Connect me through
www.dentalclinicnoida.in
www.facebook.com/dentistnoida
https://twitter.com/#!/princebds

My crown broke, What should I do?

               If your crown breaks, you should call a dentist and get an appointment as soon as you are able. Hopefully your dentist will see you within a day or two. If they can't see you within a week, I would call a different dentist or better yet ask them 'nicely' if they can refer you to a good dentist who will be able to see you sooner.

               It is best to see a dentist soon, because it is often hard for a patient to evaluate the extent of his damage. Sometimes, a patient without much pain has sustainned a significant injury to a tooth. Fortunately, most times having your crown break isn't such a big a dental emergency. Most times when the patient is seen the crown either needs to be replaced or smoothed.

                Some times the remainder of the crown is sharp and can irritate or cut the tongue.
If the underlying tooth is exposed, sometimes the tooth is sensitive to air or cold liquids. That means the pulp inside the tooth is still alive(a good thing!). Although this is anoying and can be a pain, nothing will happen to the tooth in twenty four to 48 hours. Teeth do not decay in one week. It takes time for decay to develop

               Occasionally, when a patient calls and says "my crown broke", what actually has occured is the tooth under the crown has broken off and the crown has come out. This can be a bigger emergency. When the patient does come in, the remainder of the tooth has decay and sometimes it requires endodontic treatment. Often these teeth do not hurt, since the pulp is already dead. Some teeth have sustained vertical fractures and in a worst case scenario the tooth needs to be removed.