Impacted Wisdom Teeth

The third adult molar teeth are commonly called ‘wisdom teeth’. These are usually the last teeth to appear in the mouth, generally around the age of 18-25 years.

Most people will have four wisdom teeth, but they may never or only partially appear in the mouth. Some people will not develop wisdom teeth or they may have one, two or three.

Wisdom teeth are often impacted, meaning something is stopping them from pushing all the way into the mouth. This may be a lack of space between the second molar tooth and the bone behind.

Wisdom teeth (third molars) become impacted because they don’t have enough room to come in (erupt) or develop normally. Often the development is Genetic.

Damage to other teeth
If an impacted wisdom tooth pushes against its neighboring tooth (the second molar), it may damage the other tooth or increase the risk of infection in that area.

Gum disease
Along with tooth decay, the difficulty of cleaning impacted, partially erupted wisdom teeth increases the risk of developing a painful, inflammatory gum condition called pericoronitis.

A dentigerous cyst can develop over an impacted tooth. The cyst is a fluid-filled sac and appears in the jaw bone or soft tissue.