What are wisdom teeth? There are 28-32 permanent teeth in the human body, and when the permanent teeth and milk teeth have finished alternating at the age of 12, there are only 28 teeth in the mouth, and the remaining 4 teeth will only erupt at the age of 18-30, which is often called “wisdom teeth” because people believe that this stage is the peak of intellectual development. Why don’t wisdom teeth come out easily? The reason why wisdom teeth do not grow easily is related to human evolution and changes in diet structure. The refinement of food has gradually reduced the stimulation of chewing on the jawbone, which has slowly degenerated and shrunk, while the lack of food wear on the teeth has caused the jawbone to shrink faster than the teeth, resulting in a lack of space for the eruption of teeth, leading to the misalignment of teeth and incomplete eruption of teeth in many modern people, and the emergence of blocked teeth. In particular, wisdom teeth, which are the most late to erupt, have less room to grow, as shown by the partial eruption of the crown or the skewed position of the tooth, while a few teeth are completely buried in the bone. In addition, the limited eruption of wisdom teeth is also associated with changes in the angle of eruption, genetic factors, and systemic pathological factors. What are the risks of obstructed wisdom teeth? An obstructed wisdom tooth, or an obstructed wisdom tooth, is a source of danger that can affect the health of the surrounding tissues at any time, and obstruction is an important cause of pericoronitis. The wisdom teeth with obstructed eruption and the gum around the crown can form a blind pocket, where food and bacteria can easily accumulate and are not easily removed; when the body’s resistance decreases, it is easy to occur wisdom teeth pericoronitis, at this time, if not timely and effective treatment, the infection spreads, can involve the surrounding country tissues, gap, and even complicated by a serious systemic infection; general anti-inflammatory treatment does not cure the symptoms, pericoronitis is prone to recurrent attacks. At the same time, the food residue is easily accumulated between the wisdom tooth and the neighboring teeth, and it is not easy to be removed, which can easily lead to dental caries and directly destroy the dental tissue. In addition. Because the wisdom teeth are often unable to establish a normal occlusal relationship with the opposing teeth, it can lead to the popping of the jaw joint, painful mouth opening, night grinding and other symptoms for a long time. What is pericoronitis? Pericoronitis is an inflammation of the soft tissue surrounding the crown of the third molar, also known as mandibular third molar pericoronitis. It occurs in young people between the ages of 18 and 25. The main symptom is early discomfort or mild pain in the posterior region of the third molar. When the inflammation involves the masticatory muscles, the muscles become tense and mouth opening is restricted. In severe cases, fever, chills, headache, loss of appetite, constipation and other general discomfort may also occur. What should I do if I have painful pericoronitis? When wisdom tooth pericoronitis attacks, the pain is often not obvious in patients with strong resistance; but if the patient is in a situation of physical fatigue, lack of sleep, menstruation, cold, etc., the systemic resistance is reduced. Pericoronitis is often acute and the pain is very pronounced. In the acute stage, the blind pocket around the crown can be rinsed with medicinal solution, and then local medication can be applied to achieve analgesia, anti-inflammation and improvement of mouth opening under the condition of moisture isolation. The formation of a pericoronal abscess requires prompt incision and drainage. In the chronic phase, removal of the cause is the main focus, and the Shaw pocket can be eliminated or the tooth can be extracted. In severe cases, treatment can be combined with antibacterial drugs. During the day, we should adopt a healthy lifestyle, maintain a good physical condition, and strengthen the body resistance. When pericoronitis occurs in wisdom teeth, also do not be afraid to strictly follow the doctor’s instructions; if tooth extraction is recommended, the tooth can be extracted immediately to achieve the purpose of open drainage, rapid pain relief, destruction of pericoronary anaerobic environment, and prevention of inflammation spread. If conservative treatment is recommended, you must take your medication on time, brush your teeth with pain and make sure to keep them clean daily for recovery. After the painful symptoms are eliminated, you should also go to the hospital to extract the tooth in time to avoid the inflammation from lingering and making the inflammatory cells that exist in the blind pocket for a long time to produce more toxo and chemical mediators, which will intensify the pain. Should wisdom teeth be extracted or retained? Wisdom teeth should be extracted or retained depending on the degree and manner of blockage, the presence or absence of chewing function and frequent inflammation, etc. Wisdom teeth with the following conditions and complications should be extracted: 1. Buccal oriented blocked wisdom teeth that have no chewing function and often bite through the buccal mucosa. 2. 2.The wisdom teeth that may become focal teeth leading to precancerous lesions of the buccal mucosa should be extracted early. 3.Low vertical obstructive teeth with frequent acute and chronic pericoronitis should be extracted if they affect health. Although there is no symptom for the time being, it is observed that 45% of the adjacent teeth of the wisdom teeth are topped by these teeth to become caries, so in order to protect the adjacent teeth, such teeth should be extracted at an early stage. 5.Wisdom teeth without opposing teeth may elongate and cause occlusion. The wisdom teeth without opposing teeth may elongate and cause occlusion and food embedment, so they should be extracted. For wisdom teeth with normal position and chewing function, or wisdom teeth with no function but no discomfort, inflammation, caries and other complications, they can generally be retained. What should I pay attention to after wisdom tooth extraction? After tooth extraction, you must bite cotton ball for 0.5-1.0 hours to stop the bleeding with pressure; on the day of surgery, you can apply cold compress to the cheek to relieve the swelling; eat soft food and drink more water, you can drink cold milk with straw, etc., which is good for stopping the bleeding. Postoperative pain is normal and can be relieved by taking antibiotics or painkillers, but if spontaneous pain starts to appear 2-3 days after tooth extraction and radiates to the auricular region or front teeth, one should be alert to dry socket and seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Do not brush the extraction site on the day of surgery, do not suck on the wound, do not spit or salivate forcefully as this may cause the clot to fall out. Do not smoke or drink alcohol. Do not eat hard or crunchy foods for 2 weeks after surgery. Note: If you notice severe bleeding from the extraction wound, persistent swelling, pain, fever or drug sensitivity reaction you must seek medical attention.