Wisdom teeth are the final set of teeth to come out, they are third and last molars on both the upper and lower jaws. Usually, they start growing out when the person is either in their late teens or early twenties. Normal healthy wisdom teeth do not lead to complications when they grow out. However, for most young adults that go through the process of growing wisdom teeth, pain is often experienced especially at the early stage.
The degree of pain felt varies and for some it can be very excruciating and can lead to more serious complications if handled poorly. This pain felt stems from various complications which may occur.
Some of the likely complications include:
- Crowding of the wisdom teeth, such that there is no enough room around, this can make cleaning of the teeth troublesome and ineffective.
- Having a small jaw can also lead to complication, as there isn’t enough room on the gum for all the teeth to grow out normally. This is manifested a lot but “half-growth”; that is when the teeth just grow half-way due to lack of space.
- Crooked growth. This occurs when the teeth grow in an abnormal manner, maybe in the shape, or it grows in the wrong direction.
Some people at initial stage are not even aware of the fact that the pain is caused by the growth of wisdom teeth, this is very dangerous as the case may become further complicated and lead to infections.
The symptoms listed below are characteristic of wisdom teeth complications.
- Gum disease and teeth infections: These can arise due to dirt and food particles accumulating by the teeth and lack of effective teeth cleaning due to overcrowding of growing teeth and/or lack of space for all the teeth as they grow out.
- Throbbing pain, irritation and tenderness is often experienced around the affected tooth region especially when chewing.
- Some other times, a flap of gum tissue otherwise known as pericoronal flap may form on top of the affected teeth and this can lead to swelling around that region.
There are several home remedies to soothe the pain that may arise from growth of wisdom teeth, some of which are placing an ice pack on the affected region for about 15 minutes at a time, using warm salt solution to rinse the mouth gently about thrice daily. Use of antibacterial mouth-wash can also help reduce any inflammations and pain. You could also use over-the-counter aspirins to reduce the pain felt. Aspirins should however not be misused or abused and should not be used directly on your gums as it can lead to gum damage. Aspirin should also not be used on people below the age of 20 except recommended by the doctor, this is because of the risk of Reye syndrome.
Now while a lot of people would love to settle for home treatment, sometimes, the only way out is to remove the tooth or teeth as the case may be. Hence, it is advisable to visit your dentist first, and it is critically important that these signs are not ignored.
