Erupted Wisdom Tooth: What Are the Signs and What Should You Do?

Signs That Your Wisdom Teeth Are Erupting

When they start to emerge, they can be painful.

In a worst-case scenario, they can become impacted. The erupted wisdom tooth will attempt to break through your jawline but they don’t have enough room to stay lodged in your jaw. 

The impacted wisdom tooth will cause pain and discomfort. Sometimes, impacted wisdom teeth do not show noticeable problems. However, since they are located at the back of the mouth, they are hard to clean and are susceptible to tooth decay and gum diseases. Other red flags of impacted wisdom teeth include:

• Pain around your gums at the back of your mouth.
• Swelling in your jaw or your gums are turning red.
• Bad breath 
• Headaches
• Problems chewing normally
• Trouble opening and closing your mouth.
• Having an unpleasant taste in your mouth
  
  

Removing Your Wisdom Teeth

Once you begin experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms, you should come down to our clinic. You might need to go for wisdom teeth extraction. 

Your dentist or oral surgeon will place you under local anaesthesia or general anaesthesia to ensure no pain is felt during the process. 

The process includes:

1. Making an incision in the gum tissue
2. With the tooth and bone exposed, the bone blocking access to the tooth root is removed.
3. The tooth is then divided into sections and removed 
4. The surgical site is then cleaned and stitched up with a gauze over the extraction site to control bleeding and to help a blood clot form.

What Happens After the Wisdom Tooth Surgery?

After having your wisdom teeth removed, you can expect bleeding, swelling and bruising. Dry socket is also common after having a permanent adult tooth extracted. Dry socket is when there is blood clot at the site of the tooth extraction that dissolves before the wound has healed. To reduce pain, you should:

• Use an ice pack over your cheeks. The pack on your face will help with the swelling and reduce bruising over the next few days. 
• Replace the gauze from time to time to allow blood to be absorbed
• Take painkillers prescribed by the dentist.
• Drink lots of water
• Consume soft foods until you can start getting other foods without feeling pain
• NOT brush your teeth or rinse your mouth for the first 24 hours after surgery. 
• NOT smoke or drink alcohol.

The first 24 hours after the wisdom teeth surgery are incredibly critical. Following your dentist’s instructions will change the healing process. After the first day, you can brush and floss your teeth. However, be very gentle when doing to prevent any additional bleeding. You are advised to gently rinse your mouth with warm salt water every two hours and after meals for a week.

Why Nuffield Dental?

If you’re suffering from any of these issues, our Nuffield Raffles Place dental surgery team can diagnose this problem. Our dentists are passionate about wisdom tooth removal and will do all they can to make the wisdom teeth removal process comfortable for you. 

We pride ourselves on providing each one of our clients with techniques in a relaxing environment. When you come to Nuffield dental, you are in good hands. 

If you wish to remove your wisdom teeth, come down to any of our clinics across the island. For information, please visit our clinic to book an appointment.