The wisdom teeth, also referred to as third molars, could lead to serious problems for the health of your smile. In order to protect your smile from these complications, your Olathe, KS, dentists may recommend oral surgery to carefully extract these teeth before they cause problems with the alignment and health of your smile. In today’s blog, we’re going to look at the details of the extraction process, and the benefits the procedure offers.
What Do You Know About Wisdom Teeth?
In our mouths are an additional four molars that don’t usually erupt until we reach our teens or early 20s. For a few, these could arrive without complication. But for most of us, the arrival of these teeth could mean serious problem for your overall oral health. For example, the lack of space in your smile could cause them to only partially erupt. The resulting impaction then means discomfort, infection, or even damaged teeth. They could impact overall alignment, leading to crooked, crowded, or overlapping teeth that could require orthodontics to correct. Simply put, to avoid these complications, you should have these removed completely, preferably before they event erupt.
Ensuring Your Comfort
First, we will carefully examine your smile and take detailed digital x-rays and images with intraoral cameras. This enables us to see your wisdom teeth, and plan the extraction with precision and accuracy. To make sure you feel comfortable, our team will administer a numbing agent to the portion of your smile where the third molars reside, and can also discuss dental sedation to help you remain calm, conscious, but with little to no memory of the procedure at all. We want you to enjoy your time in the office!
The Extraction Process
We will open the portion of the gums above the teeth and gently extract them with a pair of forceps. We then suture the site closed. A friend or family member will bring you home, and we will have prescriptions for any medications you need, and detailed aftercare instructions for the first day or two to facilitate a good healing process. While wisdom teeth will not need replacement, should we ever have to remove a tooth due to damage, infection, or gum disease, we could discuss options to replace them, such as a dental bridge or dental implant. If you have any questions about removing teeth, or if you want to find out if you need to have your third molars addressed, then contact our team today.
Do You Have Questions About Oral Surgery?
We would like to help you enjoy your best possible smile, and offer oral surgery for more advanced complications. For more information on oral surgery, or to schedule a dental consultation, call E-Care Dentistry, PA in Olathe, KS, today at 913-210-1701. We also proudly serve patients from Overland Park, Lenexa, and all surrounding communities.