Impacted Wisdom Teeth
What Are Wisdom Teeth?
Third molars are commonly referred to as wisdom teeth. They are usually the last teeth to develop and are located in the back of your mouth, behind your second molars. Their development is usually completed between the middle teenage years and early twenties, a time traditionally associated with the onset of maturity and the attainment of wisdom.
Wisdom Teeth Presentation
To provide you with a better understanding of wisdom teeth, we have provided the following multimedia presentation. Many common questions pertaining to wisdom teeth are discussed.
What Is An Impacted Tooth?
Although most people develop and grow 32 permanent adult teeth, many times their jaws are too small to accommodate the four wisdom teeth. When inadequate space prevents the teeth from erupting they are called impacted. This indicates their inability to erupt into the proper position for chewing and cleaning.
Types Of Impactions
We will need to see you for a consultation to determine if you will benefit from wisdom tooth removal. A special x-ray of your mouth and jaws (panorex) will be taken to determine if your wisdom teeth are impacted, if there is room for them to erupt, and how difficult it will be to have them removed.
- Soft Tissue Impaction: There is not enough room to allow the gum tissue to retract for adequate cleaning of the tooth.
- Partial Bony Impaction: There is enough space to allow the wisdom tooth to partially erupt. However, the tooth cannot function properly in the chewing process, and creates cleaning problems, among others.
- Complete Bony Impaction: There is NO space for the tooth to erupt. It remains embedded in the jaw bone or if even partially visible requires complex surgical techniques for removal.The impacted wisdom tooth may also be in an unusual position and difficult to remove. This situation can also arise when the shape or size of the jaw bone and other facial structures make removal of this tooth significantly more complex.
Soft Tissue
Partial Bony
Complete BonyCortland Oral Surgery
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As one might expect I went into the implant process anxious about the amount of discomfort and pain that would be involved. This was from the drilling of the jawbone to the recuperation afterward. Now the following day I realize the anxiety was completely unfounded. Dr SanGiocomo's surgical process was efficient and completely without discomfort. He explained what he was going to do and it unfolded as he had felt it would. Returning home, once the novocaine wore off, I anticipated at least a few hours of discomfort mollified by doses of Ibuprofen. That negative anticipation was unwarranted as well. There was no post surgery discomfort at all. Seriously! By the end of the day I was ready to send Dr SanGiocomo and his assistants a box of chocolates, but I didn't want them to worry about cavities.
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