Tooth extraction is a common experience for many patients for various dental- and oral-health reasons, and one of the most common tooth-extraction procedures is wisdom-tooth extraction. Many people require mild surgery to remove wisdom teeth, usually during young adulthood, to help mitigate against health risks that arise when wisdom teeth are coming in, and also to preemptively prevent future problems that wisdom teeth can cause later in life.

Losing a tooth is never fun business, but sometimes tooth extractions are necessary for overall health and happiness. Common reasons for tooth extractions include tooth crowding, extensive tooth decay, root fractures, severe gum disease and, of course, impacted wisdom teeth.

The trained and experienced dentist professionals at Clear Advantage Dental & Orthodontic Clinic can help guide you through your options for tooth-extraction procedures, wisdom-teeth removal and different anesthetics and which one is right for you, inform you of what will be involved and what to expect for managing pain after tooth extractions, as well as make sure your wisdom-teeth surgery runs as comfortably and safely as possible.

What are wisdom teeth?

Wisdom teeth, otherwise known as third molars, are molar teeth in the very back of your mouth, one tooth for each of the four quadrants (top and bottom, left and right). Molar teeth are the teeth in the rear of your mouth that are more flat than your front teeth, ideal for grinding food during chewing. Wisdom teeth are called third molars because they are the last of three molar teeth overall in the very back of each of the four quadrants of your mouth.

When do wisdom teeth come in?

Although wisdom teeth start growing below the gum line during your pre-teen years, they generally pierce through and erupt the gums between the ages of 17-25. In fact, the reason they are commonly referred to as “wisdom teeth” is because they appear for most people at a time of their lives when they are thought to be wiser than they were as a child, when your other teeth develop.

Why do we have wisdom teeth?

It is thought that wisdom teeth were more necessary for cavemen food diets than modern-day diets, as suggested by the fact that human ancestors had bigger skulls and jawbones than contemporary humans. However, through human evolution, wisdom teeth began to recess during teeth development in humans as the average size of jawbones became smaller; hence why they develop in the back of your mouth later in life, often at awkward angles and sometimes in incomplete form.

Why should I get my wisdom teeth removed?

For most people, wisdom teeth are unnecessary risks to your oral health. If your jaw size is smaller than average, wisdom teeth might not develop fully and become impacted, which means they only partially break through the gums; impacted teeth increase the chances of infections. Wisdom teeth also usually erupt at an angle, posing threats to other molar teeth in your mouth. Lastly, the less teeth you have in the back of your mouth, the easier it is to maintain overall teeth cleanliness and guard against a whole host of other problems, such as cavities, plague, tooth decay and more.

What is involved in wisdom-teeth extractions?

At Clear Advantage Dental & Orthodontic Clinic in Vancouver, we will walk you through each of the anesthetic options available to you during your wisdom-teeth removal, including mouth-freezing while you are awake, and help you make the decision that’s best for you. In many cases, the tooth-extraction procedure can be completed within an hour. Our dentist professionals will carefully extract the wisdom teeth and fill in the wounds with gauze.

How do I manage wisdom-teeth pain after tooth-extraction procedures?

We will provide you with homecare instructions for treating the open wounds in your mouth in the immediate days after the tooth extraction to help with the pain from removing wisdom teeth. Healing time generally takes anywhere between a couple of days to a couple of weeks, depending on how many wisdom teeth were removed and how complicated the tooth-extraction procedure was. Avoid sharp and hard foods as much as possible during the healing process and take pain medication as instructed.