Wisdom teeth are the third molars of the upper and lower jaws (i.e., almost the innermost teeth in the mouth), and while other permanent teeth in the mouth usually erupt by age 13, wisdom teeth usually erupt between the ages of 18 and 25.
When a wisdom tooth is blocked or does not fully erupt, an inflammation of the soft tissue surrounding the crown that grows inside the gums is called pericoronitis. It occurs mainly in young people between the ages of 18 and 30. It is characterized by painful swelling of the soft tissues around the crown of the tooth. Spread to adjacent tissues may result in difficulty opening the mouth and painful swallowing. In severe cases, there may be general discomfort, headache, increased body temperature, and loss of appetite. Wisdom teeth are likely to become inflamed whenever resistance is reduced.
1. How to treat pericoronitis of wisdom teeth?
(1) Symptomatic treatment: Wisdom tooth inflammation requires timely consultation, the doctor will use hydrogen peroxide and saline local rinse, the rinse process may have some pain, after the rinse on the medicine, another will recommend mouthwash rinse and take antibiotics. If the pain is unbearable, oral ibuprofen can be taken for pain relief.
(2) Treatment of the cause: When the resistance decreases after the inflammation subsides, the wisdom tooth will be repeatedly inflamed, so it is recommended to consider removing the wisdom tooth when the acute inflammation subsides.
2. Must wisdom teeth be extracted?
(1) Extraction is recommended in the following cases.
Repeated pericoronitis caused by mandibular obstructive wisdom teeth;
The wisdom teeth of the mandibular obstructed wisdom teeth are decayed or tilted forward causing decay of adjacent teeth and tooth damage;
Food blockage between the second molar and the wisdom tooth;
In orthodontic treatment, in order to prevent crowding of anterior teeth or recurrence of deformity after orthodontic treatment;
It may be the cause of temporomandibular joint disorder syndrome (mainly manifested as upper and lower jaw, soreness of occlusal joints, sound when biting or bite disorder);
Suspected of being a focal tooth causing cyst, tumor or neuralgia;
To prevent the above-mentioned symptoms, wisdom teeth can be preventatively extracted at an early stage when they are asymptomatic.
(2) Retention is recommended in the following cases.
They can erupt normally and bite normally with the opposite tooth;
If the wisdom tooth is completely buried in the bone, does not contact with the adjacent teeth and does not cause symptoms, it can be retained temporarily;
If orthodontic treatment is required and the molar in front of the wisdom tooth is missing, the wisdom tooth is designed to be moved forward instead of the missing tooth.
3. Does wisdom tooth extraction hurt?
The anesthesia will be administered as a local anesthetic, and the pain will not be felt after the anesthesia, but will be felt one or two hours after the anesthetic wears off.
4. What are the precautions after wisdom tooth extraction?
(1) After wisdom tooth extraction, the doctor will put a cotton ball in the wound to help clotting, the patient must bite the cotton ball tightly and spit it out only after half an hour.
(2) 24 hours after wisdom tooth extraction, try not to brush your teeth and avoid touching the location of the extracted tooth when brushing, you can use warm salt water to rinse your mouth instead of brushing.
(3) It is normal to have a little blood in the saliva within 24 hours after tooth extraction. Do not suck on the saliva and swallow it as much as possible.
(4) Avoid eating within 2 hours after wisdom tooth extraction, after 2 hours you can eat cold liquid food and semi-liquid food, do not eat irritating food, do not smoke or drink, do not do strenuous activities, and speak less.