Dealing with Cracked Teeth

Dealing with Cracked Teeth

The wisdom teeth, are any of the usual four third molars. These are the last set of human teeth to erupt, which normally happens around the ages of 17 - 25. They are generally thought to be called wisdom teeth because they appear so late – much later than the other teeth, at an age where people are presumably "wiser" than as a child, when the other teeth erupt.The term probably came as a translation of the Latin dens sapientiae.

For many years, there has been a lot of controversy as to the need to remove these teeth. If the teeth don’t cause you any harm or pain, they are normally fine to stay in place. If they present a bad position or cause you a lot of pain or discomfort, they will need to be removed or extracted.

Wisdom teeth commonly affect other teeth as they develop, becoming impacted or "coming in sideways." They are often extracted when this occurs. Sometimes they can be pulled, although in most cases they need to be cut out by a qualified surgeon. When the time comes to have your wisdom teeth extracted, you’ll need to go to an oral surgeon and have a consultation first.

During the consultation, you’ll take a few x-rays that will let the surgeon know how bad your wisdom teeth are. He will go over the results with you, take a look in your mouth, then tell you what options you have. If he is going to pull or cut out your teeth, you’ll have the option of using local anesthesia or undergo IV sedation. IV sedation is the preferred way to have wisdom teeth extracted, as you’ll be so relaxed you won’t know what is going on. If you decide to just use local anesthesia, which is numbing, you’ll be fully aware of the procedure. You’ll also hear the popping and cracking involved, which can make you feel quite uncomfortable.


Depending on the shape, size, and the formation of the wisdom teeth, the removal process can vary from easy to hard. If the root tips have managed to wrap themselves around the bone, the removal process can be very time consuming and quite painful. Once the extractions have been completed, there is normally little to no swelling involved. Your dentist will prescribe you some pain medicine, which you should use as soon as you arrive home. If you are going to use IV sedation, you’ll need to have someone to accompany you, as you won’t be able to drive home.

Wisdom teeth are extracted for two general reasons: either the wisdom teeth have already become impacted, or the wisdom teeth could potentially become problematic if not extracted. Potential problems caused by the presence of properly grown-in wisdom teeth include infections caused by food particles easily trapped in the jaw area behind the wisdom teeth where regular brushing and flossing is difficult and ineffective. Such infections may be frequent, and cause considerable pain and medical danger. Other reasons wisdom teeth are removed include misalignment which rubs up against the tongue or cheek causing pain, potential crowding or malocclusion of the remaining teeth (a result of there being not enough room on the jaw or in the mouth), as well as orthodontics. (Source: Dental extraction)

After the removal of your wisdom teeth, your dentist will go over what you need to do to ensure the proper healing of your gums and mouth. Normally, he will give you information to go over, to make sure that you experience no problems in the healing process. Someone will need to be with you for the first 24 hours, to make sure that you are okay. You won’t be able to eat certain foods for the first 48 hours, which is to be expected. Once you get your wisdom teeth removed through - you’ll notice a big improvement in your gums and mouth - and your health.

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