By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-06-15 12:37:21 | Word Count: 664
Wisdom teeth or the “third molars” that do not erupt until the late teens or early twenties are often problematic. Through time, the human jaw has become less accommodating, resulting in diminished space for eruption and proper alignment. Infections of these teeth or their surrounding gum tissue are common outcomes of incomplete eruption or improper positioning.
Wisdom teeth that break through the gum lacking room to position themselves correctly, will often wind up aligned horizontally, leaning against the second molars, causing crowding and potential damage to the neighboring molars but also to jawbone and nerves areas. Often the crowding and pressure is enough to cause affected teeth to develop decay from plaque and debris entrapped by the leaning wisdom teeth and the inability to properly clean between them. Cavities can easily develop in either the secondary or wisdom teeth in this adjacent area. Further, the difficulty of cleaning an improperly positioned wisdom tooth, should it develop a cavity while emerging, can spur its cavity to become a large bacterial feeding ground, infecting the tooth.
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Also common with wisdom teeth, is their failure to erupt or break through the gum completely. They may partially come through or not emerge at all. In this case, a wisdom tooth is “impacted,” and, failing to come through as it should, remains mostly surrounded by soft gum tissue or trapped within the jawbone area. With a partially erupted tooth, an opening will remain, readily allowing bacteria to enter the surrounding gum area and spawn infection.
Symptoms of infection are serious pain and swelling which can also progress to jaw stiffness and general illness if untreated. Moreover, even if they do not become infected by bacteria, partially erupted teeth are more than likely, with time, to become decayed or lead to gum disease. This is the natural outcome of their far jaw end position where they are hard to reach to brush and floss and being, even further at risk due to their typical poor alignment.
While cavities that involve wisdom teeth will usually result in constant, intolerable pain that will send one scurrying to the dentist, infected gum tissue around wisdom teeth can be confused with the normal discomfort of erupting wisdom teeth. However, it is unwise to delay seeking assistance from a dental professional in the event of gum pain that is fairly constant, yet more tolerable than tooth pain, as it could easily be a sign of infection around the eruption site. While normal eruption is usually accompanied by a dull ache, the pain of infection can be much worse. Gum swelling and puffiness and sometimes a bad taste in the mouth from pus can occur. Moreover, the pain will often worsen when attempting to clean or brush the area then ease off a bit when stopping, just not for long until it reoccurs.
Thus, when wisdom teeth are erupting, consistent pain in the teeth or gum area, accompanied by swelling or redness should be viewed as a strong indicator of infection, a reason to consult with a dentist to prevent even further painful problems. While infections are treatable with antibiotics, a dentist can monitor wisdom teeth and judge their potential to erupt fully as they should or advice removal when they are unlikely to emerge properly, continuing instead to be painful sources of infection.
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