In Utah, a wisdom tooth is any of the third molars, including both the mandibular third molar and the maxillary third molar. Most people usually get their wisdom teeth between the ages of 17 and 25. Having four wisdom teeth is considered the norm, but it is possible to have more (called supernumerary teeth) or less (called hypodontia). In most cases, wisdom teeth will affect other teeth as they come in, becoming impacted or “coming in sideways”. When this occurs, they are usually removed through a process called “extraction”. Your local Utah dentist can easily extract a wisdom tooth with little to no preparation.
Before you go to your dentist, you should know that there are four distinct categories of impacted wisdom teeth. The most common type in Utah is the one where the tooth points forward, also known as Mesioangular (44%). The second most common type of impacted wisdom tooth in Utah is Vertical impaction (38%); this is where the tooth doesn’t fully come through the gum line. Distoangular impaction (6%) is fairly rare, and means the wisdom tooth points towards the rear of the mouth. The rarest type of impacted wisdom tooth in Utah is Horizontal impaction (3%), where the tooth is at a right angle and is growing into the root of the second molar.
Your local Utah dentist can diagnose to see if you have another type of wisdom tooth impaction, one known as bony impaction. A bony impaction is where your wisdom teeth are completely encased within the jawbone. On the other hand, when your wisdom teeth have erupted from the jawbone but haven’t penetrated the gumline, it is called a soft tissue impaction. Sometimes, the wisdom tooth partially comes through the gumline, but doesn’t completely break through. The gum will form a soft tissue cap around the tooth called an operculum. Wisdom teeth covered by an operculum can be difficult to clean with conventional methods.
Due to the fact that an operculum can make cleaning a wisdom tooth difficult with conventional means, bacteria and debris tend to gather there quickly. This may cause an infection known as pericoronitis, an infection problem common in Utah with young adults who suffer from soft tissue impactions. Common symptoms of pericoronitis include a swelling and redness in the gum around the wisdom tooth, as well as difficulty opening the mouth, bad odors or tastes in the mouth, pain in the region that may run up the jaw or down the neck. Without treatment, the infection can progress to more sever problems. Immediate extraction of the wisdom tooth is recommended, which you can have done quite easily in Utah.
If you want to find the best wisdom teeth removal Utah has to offer, then visit Jean Brown Research and see if you qualify.