When a tooth is impacted, it is embedded in either gum tissue or the actual jawbone. This makes it extremely difficult to clean properly and makes them easier to fall prey to tooth decay or in some cases gum disease.
In some cases, when a tooth is impacted and they are left untreated, they can become infected requiring dental surgery to remove them. If there is pain associated with the region, or if the patient has persistent bad breath, or a lingering bad taste in their mouth this could be an indicator that the teeth are infected. This is particularly common with wisdom teeth.
Impacted Tooth Surgery
In general, the entire procedure of removing an impacted tooth requires approximately thirty to sixty minutes. Depending upon the situation, a local anesthetic can be used however in the event that there are complications, a general anesthetic may be used to ensure the patient is comfortable during the entire procedure. Complications may include the tooth being buried beneath a lot of gum tissue or embedded in the jawbone.
An incision is made along the gum, to provide access to the tooth. The removal process is somewhat delicate as it is important to not break off the tooth as it is being removed. If a section is broken off, it complicates things further as an even more invasive procedure will be necessary to ensure all tooth fragments are removed.
The reason it is important to remove these teeth is as they come in, they are beneath the other natural teeth and cause pain, gum inflammation, or even teeth misalignment. If there is an infection associated with the impacted teeth, this infection could move to other nonimpacted teeth. Even if your impacted teeth are not causing you any immediate problems it is a good idea to let someone on our team take a look and map out a treatment plan.
When a tooth is impacted, it is embedded in either gum tissue or the actual jawbone. This makes it extremely difficult to clean properly and makes them easier to fall prey to tooth decay or in some cases gum disease.