Sometimes taking protecting your smile means caring for the parts of it that are hidden and harder to see. This is the case with wisdom teeth: although you may not see your wisdom teeth affecting your smile, they are quite impactful. Keep reading to learn more from our Orland Park wisdom tooth dentists.
What are wisdom teeth?
A wisdom tooth is essentially a third molar—you may have wisdom teeth on the upper right, lower right, upper left, and lower left corners of your smile. Some people are even born without wisdom teeth.
Are they harmful?
A wisdom tooth itself is not necessarily harmful for your oral health; the problem is that few of us have enough room for our wisdom teeth to naturally and comfortably sit in our mouths. This leads to all kinds of potential problems when your wisdom teeth do try to come in:
- Teeth that are impacted, or stuck in the jawbone
- Teeth that come in at odd angles due to lack of space (the pressure from these teeth can even cause your existing dental alignment to shift).
- Partially emerged wisdom teeth that are difficult to clean (leading to cavities and periodontal disease)
- Pain around the site of the wisdom tooth
Wisdom tooth removal is designed to locate your wisdom teeth and then either pull them, or surgically extract them from your jaw tissue. The type of treatment that is right for you will depend on how many wisdom teeth you have, where they are located, and how much space you have along your jawline.
Timely wisdom tooth removal can help you avoid discomfort as well as expensive dental treatments down the road. Our Tinley Park dentists remove wisdom teeth in both adolescent and adult patients. Please feel free to call our office if you have any questions!