Your wisdom teeth, also referred to as your third molars, begin growing in toward the end of your teenage years. In some cases, the growth of wisdom teeth may have no impact on your dental health other than minor discomfort as they cut through your gums. However, in other cases, the growth of these wisdom teeth can be the source of an assortment of complications and dental problems. Due to this, some dentists will advise you to opt for wisdom teeth extraction before they have fully developed as a preventative measure from these complications. Here are some of the reasons why the extraction of your wisdom teeth may be essential.

Wisdom teeth can cause infections and inflammation

If you have limited space on your jaw, your wisdom teeth can become impacted as they grow in. This, in turn, will cause inflammation in your gums. Left unchecked, the inflammation can develop into infections in the gum as bacteria and other microorganisms begin to breed in the impacted tooth. This is because as a tooth becomes impacted, there is a space that occurs between the wisdom tooth and the gum. As you eat, food particles can become trapped in this space making it a prime breeding ground for bacteria. Extracting the wisdom tooth rather than waiting for it to reach maturity would be an ideal choice for dental patients at risk of impaction.

Wisdom teeth can cause overcrowding in your mouth

Wisdom teeth tend to begin erupting late in one's life. By this time, all your other teeth have established their locations and are rigidly in place. If you do not have sufficient space in your jaw, the eruption of your wisdom teeth can cause overcrowding with your current teeth. Since the wisdom teeth are bigger, they end up pushing the other teeth out of the way. This also poses the risk of making your teeth appear misaligned and out of place. You would then have to seek orthodontic treatments in your adulthood to repair this overcrowding that the wisdom teeth caused and push your teeth back into position.

Wisdom teeth can cause damage to adjacent teeth

As wisdom teeth begin to grow, they do not only put your teeth at risk of overcrowding. They can also cause additional damage in the form of bone loss. The wisdom teeth can also promote the development of cavities in the adjacent teeth since the wisdom teeth are hard to clean thoroughly. This makes it easier for food particles, plaque and more to accumulate on your other molars.

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