Growing up, people have two types of teeth – baby and adult. Then there is another one that comes out later – wisdom teeth. This third type of tooth tends to come out in one’s late teens and early twenties. If they cause problems, they can be extracted by your Clearwater dentist. But it is not always easy.
There are times, though, that the wisdom tooth could wind up coming in at an angle and not be able to come out as it should. As a result, you can get an impacted wisdom tooth. That creates a lot of problems and it can be both uncomfortable and even possibly dangerous for you. That is why you need to be on the lookout for the symptoms.
What are they, though? While there are no symptoms that point directly to it being an impacted wisdom tooth – what you feel here can point to other things – you need to seek dental care as soon as possible. Here are some of the things you may feel as a result:
You may notice that your gums are showing any or all of these symptoms. This can happen when you are brushing your teeth or even when you aren’t even doing anything like chewing. It can happen if you even lightly touch the area with a toothbrush bristle or anything else.
This is not something to just wait out and hope that things get better. If you do that, you could risk it being gum disease and having it advance to the point where you could wind up losing other teeth and not just the wisdom tooth.
This could be happening for a variety of reasons, including bleeding gums, but it could also be pus from possible infection due to the impacted tooth. That same taste can also translate to bad breath, which is annoying for both you and those who interact with you. In essence, this is your body’s way of telling you that something is going on.
Don’t just pop breath mints or gargle mouthwash in an attempt to get rid of that bad taste or mask the bad breath. The longer you wait, the better the chances of you developing something worse, including bacteria making its way into your bloodstream and possibly causing things like heart disease or cancer.
When you look at yourself in the mirror, you see a puffier-looking person thanks the swelling. It may even appear that you got punched. If you don’t get punched, you should go see a dentist quickly. Even if you did get punched, you should do the same.
Also, you could have jaw pain, which makes chewing or talking especially difficult to endure for a long. In any event, seek medical or dental care as soon as possible to keep things from getting any worse.
An impacted wisdom tooth could make it hard for you to open your mouth fully. The chances of it locking are remote, though. Still, it will make everyday living quite aggravating. If you find yourself having this issue, seek medical care. While this could be related to something like TMJ, delaying care is dangerous and could lead to more long-term problems with your jaw or your overall health.
All of these signs can point to other possible issues with your oral health, so you want to be sure that you go see a dental professional as soon as you start seeing any of these signs. That way, they can keep anything from progressing too far and causing you to have even more extensive and expensive procedures done.
If they do wind up having to extract the impacted wisdom tooth, it will be a relatively simple procedure, provided that you follow all the instructions afterward, like not smoking or sipping from a straw the first day and resting. After that, you should be able to resume your normal activities fairly soon. Then you will happily be free of any impacted wisdom teeth.
Are you worried that you might have an impacted wisdom tooth? Do you live in or near Clearwater, Florida? If so, you can come to the Dental Emergency Room. Our staff is ready for all kinds of dental emergencies, including this. Contact us today before coming in – at 727-449-2424.
Dental Emergency Room
1935 Drew Street,
Clearwater, Florida 33765
Columbus, OH 43205
Phone: 727-449-2424