Wisdom Teeth Function

Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. During this “age of wisdom” phase, sometimes teeth can be a valuable asset to the mouth when healthy and properly aligned, but more often they are misaligned and require removal. Some might think of wisdom teeth as spare tires, because if you lost your teeth, the wisdom teeth would be extra teeth that come in and function like normal teeth. Here at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania, our doctors can perform extractions depending on their position and stage of development.

So why do we have them? Anthropologists believe wisdom teeth or the third set of molars, were the evolutionary answer to our ancestor’s early diet of coarse, rough food – like leaves, roots, nuts, and meats – which required more chewing power and resulted in excessive wear of the teeth. The modern diet with its softer foods, along with marvels of modern technologies such as forks, spoons, and knives, has made the need for wisdom teeth nonexistent; however, they don’t always need to be removed.

To learn more about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.oralsurgerypa.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, call 215-463-4141. 

Wisdom Teeth Extractions

While many patients do not experience problems with their wisdom teeth when they begin to emerge between the ages of 17 and 25, many others find that theirs must be removed. Wisdom teeth are usually removed because they become impacted, which means that the tooth does not have enough room to come in straight through the gums and instead emerges at an angle. This can cause pain, damage to the jaw and a more crooked smile due to crowding. Additionally, the site of impaction can become a bacterial hotspot since impacted wisdom teeth are hard to clean.

If your mouth does not have enough room for your wisdom teeth to come in, a wisdom tooth extraction is necessary, and at our teams at our offices throughout the Philadelphia, PA area can determine whether a wisdom tooth extraction is the best course of action for you.

Wisdom teeth extractions can range from removing a single tooth to removing all four teeth at once. Your doctor at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania will let you know what they think is best for you. For the procedure, your doctor will use either a local anesthetic to numb the area or a general anesthetic to sedate you while the teeth are extracted. The tooth will then be accessed through an incision in the gums and wiggled until it is loose enough to be lifted out. If the tooth is too deeply embedded to be removed this way, it will be broken up into pieces before being removed.

Whether you are already feeling pain due to impacted wisdom teeth or have not yet felt them come in, we can determine if your wisdom teeth will cause problems for you. To schedule an appointment with us at Oral Surgery Consultants of Pennsylvania, visit our website www.oralsurgerypa.com.