A third molar, commonly called a wisdom tooth, is one of the three molars per quadrant of the human dentition. It is the third from the back.
Some people never develop wisdom teeth. The wisdom tooth connects to the central nervous system. It is the heart, liver, and intestines. This may also mean hypertension, eczema, headaches, liver disease, extremity pain, and cardiovascular disease.
The age at which wisdom teeth emerge varies. But it usually happens between the late teens and early twenties. Most adults have four wisdom teeth. One in each of the four quadrants, but it is possible to have more than four. It is a redundant tooth.
The Purpose of Wisdom Teeth
The primitive diet of our forefathers included a lot of raw plants, hard nuts, and tough meats. It helps grind these foods for proper digestion.
Some wisdom tooth problems can be controlled by practicing and maintaining good oral hygiene. Interdental cleaning and brushing two times a day are what the doctor recommends. It helps to prevent plaque buildup in interdental areas.
Various products are available for this. Dental floss and interdental brushes are the most common. Impacted wisdom teeth are a condition in which the third molars do not erupt into the mouth. It can occur due to physical barriers, such as when the tooth is angled away from a vertical position.
Wisdom teeth are likely to be impacted because the jaw is too small for the teeth to come out. This is most likely caused by not chewing enough crunchy and hard foods. That can be anything like fruits and vegetables during physical growth.
An impacted wisdom tooth may:
- Grow at an angle toward the next tooth.
- Grow at an angle toward the back of the mouth.
- Grow at a right angle to the other teeth, as if the wisdom tooth is lying down within the jawbone.
- Grow straight up or down like other teeth but stay trapped within the jawbone. The direction of impaction of wisdom teeth, their depth on the biting surface of adjacent teeth, and the amount of the tooth’s crown extend through gum tissue or bone. These are all used to classify them.
Wisdom Teeth Removal
The surgical removal of one or more wisdom teeth, the four permanent adult teeth located at the top and bottom back corners of your mouth, is known as wisdom tooth extraction.
During extraction, many instruments aid and ease tooth removal. It tries to traumatize the tissues to allow for quicker recovery.
Teeth are extracted using extraction forceps. Different shaped forceps are available depending on the tooth requiring removal. What side of the mouth it is on, and if it is an upper or lower tooth.
The breaks of the forceps must grip onto the tooth’s root securely. Before applying along the long axis of the tooth towards the root. If a wisdom tooth does not have enough room to grow, causing pain, infection, or other dental issues, it will most likely need to be extracted. A dentist or an oral surgeon can extract wisdom teeth. To prevent future problems, some dentists recommend a wisdom tooth extraction.
Giving local anesthetic before tooth extraction
Before extracting a tooth, the dentist will administer local anesthesia. This is to ensure that the tooth and surrounding tissues are numb.
There are several methods for tooth numbness, including-
Infiltration-Injection containing local anesthetic put into the gum near the tooth’s root tip. It allows the local anesthetic to penetrate through the bone. Eventually, the nerve bundle of the tooth is extracted.
Nerve block-Injection containing local anesthetic is delivered to a branch of the nerve. Lidocaine and Articaine ao the most commonly used local anesthetics in the United Kingdom.
The medicine is used on the gum to numb the injection site up to a few millimeters deep. It should help to reduce patient anxiety. This is done by reducing the discomfort felt during the injection.
Healing process
The blood clot is covered by epithelial cells. This increases from the gingival mucosa of the socket margins and covers the defect entirely in about ten days. In this clot, neutrophils and macrophages are involved as an inflammatory response occurs.
The proliferative phase of the alveolar bone is characterized by the growth of osteogenic cells from the nearby bone marrow. Bone formation begins about ten days after the wisdom tooth is extracted in London Clinic.
The outline of the socket is no longer visible on an X-ray image after 10-12 weeks. Bone remodeling as the alveolus adapts to the alveolar process slowly resorbs.
The degree of maxillary sinus pneumatization may also increase. It is just like the antral floor remodels in posterior maxillary teeth.