Warning signs of impacted wisdom teeth

There are not many oral health problems as disruptive to your normal daily life as wisdom tooth pain. It is important to identify the pain symptoms so that you understand the cause and solution of your problem.

Wisdom teeth become impacted because the lack of space in the very rear of the jaw has resulted in the tooth not able to erupt in a normal way. Sometimes this leaves an awkward portion of tooth protruding from the gum which is difficult to clean and maintain. It is usually this that results in the problems associated with impacted wisdom teeth because the accumulation of bacteria can result in inflammation and infections.

Common symptoms of impacted wisdom teeth

You may experience some of the symptoms below:

1. Throbbing pain in the back of the mouth 
2. Swelling around the jaw
3. Tender and bleeding gums in the affected region of your mouth
4. Swollen glands in your neck on the affected side
5. Headaches

In severely impacted wisdom teeth, the above symptoms cannot be effectively resolved or managed with long term success. It is usually possible to resolve the pain temporarily using antibiotics and pain relief medication. However, the problem may return if the impacted tooth remains difficult to manage.

In these cases we would recommend removing the impacted wisdom tooth before it causes further pathology such as:

1. Decay or disease on the neigbouring tooth
2. Development of a cyst
3. Extensive spread of infection in the head and neck

I would advise any patient with any of the symptoms above to attend the dental clinic and have an assessment. It is certainly better to be safe than sorry when treating impacted wisdom teeth. This is because they are much easier and less painful to treat in the early stages before the problem worsens.

For more information please feel free to contact Jasmin Wigglesworth at our clinic or visit the relevant pages on our web site.

Thank you for reading.

• Dr Mohsin Patel BDS MJDF RCS (Eng)