3 Reasons Your Wisdom Tooth May Need To Be Removed For Your Oral Health
Posted on: 28 September 2016
Even if your dentist has prescribed the extraction of your wisdom tooth, you may still want to put off scheduling the appointment. After all, who wants to have a tooth extracted? Nevertheless, the removal of a wisdom tooth is sometimes necessary in order to protect your oral health. Here are a few reasons why:
Your wisdom teeth can start to shift the other teeth in your mouth.
If your wisdom tooth is not growing in a straight vertical pattern, it can cause adjacent teeth to move out place. Sometimes a wisdom tooth is growing laterally instead of vertically. As the tooth continues to grow, it presses on adjacent teeth. Even though the other teeth may have erupted in a straight pattern, the pressure from the wisdom tooth can force them into misalignment. Additionally, similar pressure is exerted if your mouth is too small to accommodate the erupting wisdom tooth.
Since teeth are adjacent to one another, the misalignment can progress throughout your mouth through a domino effect. Eventually, you could need an orthodontic appliance to coax the teeth back into position.
The misalignment happens gradually over time, but if you ignore the advice of your dentist and delay the extraction, the movement of the teeth could have enough time to progress.
Your wisdom tooth can incite tooth decay.
Since a wisdom tooth lies in the rear of the oral cavity, it can be difficult to clean it effectively. Most toothbrush heads do not reach that area sufficiently. Additionally, it is hard to maneuver dental floss in the back of the mouth. As a result, a wisdom tooth may be more susceptible to tooth decay.
Once the tooth starts to decay, the decay can progress to other teeth. This can result in the need for multiple restorative treatments that could have been avoided if the wisdom tooth had been extracted in a timely manner.
Your wisdom tooth can cause gum disease.
Your wisdom tooth may not fully erupt due to space limitations in your mouth. In some cases, a portion of the tooth is exposed, and the remaining tooth is covered by a hood of gum tissue. This hood or cloak of gingival tissue can form a pocket that traps plaque, causing the gums to become increasingly inflamed.
The inflammation can be reduced by thoroughly cleaning beneath the pocket, but it is likely to recur as long as the wisdom tooth remains in the mouth.
To learn more about wisdom teeth and why they may need to be extracted, schedule an appointment with a dentist in your area.
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