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Wisdom Tooth Extraction
Wisdom tooth (third molar) extraction is a very
important preventive procedure. In many patients, there is not enough
room for wisdom teeth to fit into their mouth. Even if they fit part of
the way, they will give the patient problems. For these reasons, we
recommend wisdom tooth extraction, especially in younger patients.
Wisdom teeth are very hard for the patient to clean and very hard for
the dentist to work on. For these reasons, they are very susceptible to
cavities and gum disease. They also are believed to shift around other
teeth. Usually, to eliminate these problems before they can even start,
we have wisdom teeth removed at a young age when healing times are very
quick and the roots haven�t fully formed on the wisdom teeth. This keeps
them from contacting nerves on the bottom and the nasal sinus on the top
that can lead to further complications. Sometimes your dentist can
remove your wisdom teeth, but, typically, an oral surgeon will remove
them under general anesthesia. A frequent question that occurs with
wisdom tooth extraction is �Why should I have them pulled if they are
not bothering me?� We very rarely see a case where an older adult is
able to maintain their wisdom teeth. There is always one or two of them
that are problematic. The advantage of getting them out at a younger age
is rapid healing, fewer complications, and less interruption of normal
activities as compared to adult life. Another common question is �Why
can�t I just get the one taken out?� We usually tell our patients that
if they get one out, they might as well get them all out. The reasons
are because it is expensive to pay for general anesthesia, so just pay
for it once. The other reason is just have the one healing time and not
worry about it again.
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