Why is wisdom teeth removal necessary? While not everyone needs to have their wisdom teeth removed, for many they can be the cause of pain or discomfort. Most people’s mouth cannot accommodate all 32 teeth and because the third molars, commonly called ‘wisdom teeth’, are the last to appear there is often not enough room for the size and shape of these teeth.
These wisdom teeth typically show up between ages 17-21 and in most cases are removed for any of the following reasons:
- They are erupting into an abnormal position, such as tilted, sideways or twisted.
- They are trapped below the gum line due to lack of space.
- Pericoronitis has developed which is an infection resulting from trapped food, plaque and bacteria.
- The way the teeth bite together has changed, causing misalignment of the jaws.
- Because they are more difficult to reach, proper hygiene is difficult and can result in tooth decay of the erupted wisdom teeth.
Even though your regular dentist can give you an indication if you or a loved one should have your wisdom teeth removed, it’s best to consult with an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon as we are specially trained to deal with all things wisdom teeth.
Feel free to contact my office at (704) 542-9600 to schedule a consultation and to get all your questions about wisdom teeth answered.
Filed under Oral Surgery, Wisdom Teeth Removal by admin
As an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon, I often get asked what is Maxillofacial surgery.
Maxillo-facial has two parts. The Maxillo is from latin, Maxillar, meaning “Jaw”. Facial obviously means related to face. So maxillofacial means related to the jaws and face.
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (OMS) are trained to take care of a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region.
Filed under Oral Surgery by DrMarashi
There have been many studies that evaluated the correlation between impacted mandibular third molars and mandibular fracture (lower Jaw). T. Meisami et al 2001 did a study that showed Patients with third molars had thrice the increased risk of angle fractures when compared to patients without (P< 0.001). Impaction of third molars significantly increased the incidence of angle fractures (P< 0.001). The severity and angulation of third molar impactions were not significantly associated with angle fractures. This study provides evidence that patients with retained impacted third molars are significantly more susceptible to angle fracture than those without.
In a more recent study by A. Thangavelu et al, published in the International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, patients injured by moderate traumatic force resulting in two fractures of the mandible, the presence/absence of impacted mandibular third molars played an important role in angle/condylar fractures. Patients with impacted mandibular third molars were three times more likely to develop angle fractures and less likely to develop condylar fractures than those without impacted mandibular third molars.
1. Meisami T, Sojat A, Sàndor GK, Lawrence HP, Clokie CM.
Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2002 Apr;31(2):140-4.
2. Thangavelu A, Yoganandha R, Vaidhyanathan A.
Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2010 Feb;39(2):136-9. Epub 2010 Jan 18.
Filed under Uncategorized by DrMarashi
