"Wisdom teeth" are a type of molar. A person's third molars are their wisdom teeth.
What are "impacted wisdom teeth?"
In dental terminology an "impacted" tooth refers to a tooth that has failed to emerge fully into its expected position.
Classifications of impacted wisdom teeth.
Dentists use specific terms to describe the positioning of impacted wisdom teeth. The most common type of impacted wisdom tooth is one that is impacted mesially.
A "soft tissue" impaction is one where the upper portion of a wisdom tooth (the tooth's crown) has penetrated through the bone, but has not yet erupted fully through the gums.
Why might a wisdom tooth be impacted?
The reason why some wisdom teeth are impacted is not an easy question to answer. This activity could have stimulated greater jawbone growth, thus providing more space for wisdom teeth.
Once a tooth (or a portion of it) is missing the teeth behind it have a tendency to move forward. This shifting would make more jawbone space available for the wisdom teeth. Why do impacted wisdom teeth need to be extracted?
Typically it is the partially erupted impacted wisdom tooth that is more unpredictable or troublesome for a person than an impacted wisdom tooth that has never penetrated through the gum tissue.
One condition that can occur, often repeatedly, when wisdom teeth are impacted is pericoronitis. Gum tissue is never attached to the crown portion of a tooth.)
The signs of pericoronitis are tenderness and swelling in the gum tissue surrounding a wisdom tooth. In the later case, extraction of the offending wisdom tooth is usually indicated.
New or recurrent tooth decay in the wisdom tooth.
Cavities get a chance to form in teeth when dental plaque is allowed to remain on a tooth's surface for prolonged periods of time. If the position of a wisdom tooth is one where you are not able to clean it thoroughly, then the tooth will be at risk for developing decay.
If tooth decay does form in a wisdom tooth the tooth often can, just like with any other tooth, be repaired by way of placing a filling.
New or recurrent tooth decay in a wisdom tooth's neighboring tooth.
Poorly aligned wisdom teeth can possess a positioning that creates a trap for plaque and debris between the wisdom tooth and the next molar forward (the 2nd molar).
Periodontal disease ("gum disease").
Gum disease is not an isolated event that occurs around an individual tooth, it also affects a tooth's neighboring teeth. Why should impacted wisdom teeth be removed?
(If a decision is made to not remove an impacted wisdom tooth, a dentist will often recommend that an x-ray should be taken of the tooth periodically.
Tooth crowding.
Changes in the alignment of a person's lower front teeth, especially, are frequently blamed on pressure created by a person's wisdom teeth.
Part of the proof for this stance is that studies have found that people who lack wisdom teeth (have congenitally missing wisdom teeth) experience this same crowding phenomenon.
Damage to neighboring teeth.
While uncommon, the attempted eruption of a misdirected impacted wisdom tooth can cause damage to a person's 2nd molar (the next tooth forward of the wisdom tooth).
The tooth did have a root at one time but the action of the permanent tooth erupting underneath has caused its root to resorb, hence the baby tooth looks rootless.
In other cases, even after being informed about the potential problems associated with their impacted wisdom teeth, some patients will simply prefer to not have these teeth extracted.
Do all impacted wisdom teeth whitening need to be extracted?
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