What Is Complex Wisdom Tooth Extraction?
Yonsei Godeok S Dental Clinic
There are four wisdom teeth in total, and only about 60% of people have all of them fully erupted. The difficulty of extraction varies depending on the position of the wisdom tooth, so it is important to accurately determine how close it is to the nerve and whether it is in contact with it.
Because wisdom tooth extraction can directly involve the risk of nerve damage, the precise surgical skill of an experienced specialist is essential.
Wisdom Teeth Can Cause the Following Problems
- A toothbrush cannot reach the wisdom tooth properly, so it decays. Food frequently gets trapped between the wisdom tooth and the adjacent molar, causing decay in the wisdom tooth and even the surrounding teeth.
- Inflammation and swelling develop in the surrounding gums. In severe cases, the inflammation can lead to problems such as cysts, abscesses, and osteomyelitis (bone infection).
- It pushes against neighboring teeth, tilting the molars. This causes the tooth alignment to become crooked, leading to malocclusion (a misaligned bite).
- The alveolar bone of the surrounding molars is resorbed along with it. Inflammation around the wisdom tooth resorbs the alveolar bone, and the bone around neighboring teeth is resorbed as well.
Precautions for Complex Wisdom Tooth Extraction
- The longer wisdom teeth are left untreated, the more problems they cause, so it is best to address them preventively in advance.
- Because the inferior alveolar nerve (lower jaw nerve) runs near the wisdom teeth, care must be taken to avoid nerve damage.
- A pre-treatment examination of the possibility of nerve damage is necessary, and you should be treated by an experienced dentist.
Do I Need It Too? Who Needs Complex Wisdom Tooth Extraction
The longer wisdom teeth are left untreated, the greater the likelihood of serious problems, so it is best to extract them early as a preventive measure.
- When a horizontally impacted wisdom tooth is damaging the root of the adjacent molar
- When it negatively affects the alignment of the entire dentition, causing the teeth to shift out of place
- When a tooth has broken due to an accident and extraction is required
- When prompt treatment is needed due to a wasting condition such as diabetes