Dealing with your wisdom teeth is a little bit of a rite of passage; they emerge for most people sometime in early adulthood, and from the time they do, they’ll have to think about whether it’s smart to have them removed.
On the other hand, some people would rather do whatever they can to avoid having to take their wisdom teeth out. Here’s what you should know about whether wisdom tooth removal is an eventuality, or if it’s something that you might be able to do without.
Does Everyone Even Get Wisdom Teeth?
First of all, it’s worth pointing out that not everyone even has all four wisdom teeth. Plenty of people are naturally missing one, two, three, or even all of them. It’s not necessarily clear why this is the case, but it’s thought that genetics have something to do with it.
However, if you find that you haven’t seen your wisdom teeth emerge yet, it might be that they’re impacted. The only way to know for sure is to have a dentist perform an x-ray.
Do I Need to Remove My Wisdom Teeth?
In some cases, people see their wisdom teeth come in without any problems. This is common for people who had teeth pulled before getting braces, but some people just get lucky in this regard. In these situations, it may be possible to go your whole life without removing your wisdom teeth.
The Problems With Wisdom Teeth
However, there are also risks associated with keeping these molars. For one, there are often problems with their development; these teeth can easily become impacted, or may push the surrounding teeth out of position. These teeth are also much harder to clean, which means that they’re much more susceptible to decay or disease.
It’s also worth nothing that removing the wisdom teeth becomes harder the longer you leave them. The roots will grow longer, which will make recovery longer and more complicated. That means that if you ever do have to remove your wisdom teeth later in life, you’ll have a harder time with it.
The best thing to do is to talk to a dentist regarding your situation. They’ll be able to let you know whether wisdom tooth removal is a necessity for you or not.
About Our Practice
At TimberRidge Dental, we believe that there’s no substitute for giving our patients our undivided attention. Even something as routine as wisdom tooth treatment can feel incredibly daunting for patients who have never experienced them before, which is why we do what we can to make sure that the people who visit us will have all of their need attended to.
If you have any questions about wisdom teeth, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (435) 654-2020.