Wisdom teeth (or third molars) are the last teeth to come in and the ones least needed for good oral health. They may not erupt, or they might emerge from your gums in your late teens or early twenties. Most often they're impacted or trapped in the jawbone and gums, usually because there is not enough room for them in your mouth. In fact, wisdom teeth often do more harm than good, and your dentist may recommend removing them.
Most people have four wisdom teeth, one at each corner of the mouth, but each tooth can be at different stage of eruption and position of impaction. Since wisdom teeth develop over a period of many years, harmful changes in your mouth may be gradual. Sometimes these changes could result in sudden and severe pain.
From Silent to Serious Problems
If they are impacted, you may not even know you have wisdom teeth until pain suddenly strikes because of infection or pressure on adjacent teeth. Late or partial erupting wisdom teeth may cause crowding or shifting of your teeth or bite. You may not know that your developing wisdom teeth are pushing on the roots of adjacent teeth until those teeth start to shift. If your wisdom teeth do erupt, they may be hard to clean, so odds of decay or infection of surrounding gum tissue are high.
Are your wisdom teeth threatening the health of your mouth? An evaluation by your dentist can answer this question. Your dentist will take your dental and medical history, examine your teeth, and take x-rays to assess the health of your teeth. If your evaluation pinpoints a problem with your wisdom teeth, your dentist may recommend removal of your wisdom teeth to eliminate symptoms.