Most people aged 17-27 years old face problems caused by the appearance of a wisdom tooth (the so-called third molar or eight). Sometimes it can erupt at a later period. Almost 10% of people do not have them at all, and in a third, they remain in the jaw all their lives in the form of embryonic anlages, never appearing.
However, this process is not always accompanied by pain, discomfort and other problems. Quite often they erupt successfully and retain their chewing function for many years without showing any signs of carious lesions.
What to do if teething still causes discomfort: treat it or is it better to resort to removal? These and other questions will be discussed later in the article.
What are wisdom teeth?
Dentists and scientists call them a vestigial organ, the need for which disappeared when people learned to heat food. Eights, like all other human teeth, consist of roots, a neck and a crown, but despite this they have certain anatomical features.
Here are the main differences:
- they are only indigenous and do not come in milk;
- their eruption is often accompanied by pain;
- have a larger number of roots - from 2 to 5;
- bent and twisted roots.
How long does a wisdom tooth hurt as it grows?
If there is enough space for the “eight”, and the gum tissue is not particularly dense, the new tooth will grow quickly: in total, the suffering will last no more than 2 months. In this case, although the sensations will be unpleasant, they will be quite tolerable.
If the gums hurt very badly, swelling appears or the temperature rises, most likely there is an infection under the hood. This happens even with normal eruption of the third molar.
Does a wisdom tooth always hurt when it comes through?
When wisdom teeth erupt, 90% of people experience pain. And, probably, each of them is sincerely perplexed why, in childhood, teeth were replaced unnoticeably, without causing any discomfort. The answer is simple:
- firstly, in childhood, bone tissue is softer and more elastic;
- secondly, permanent teeth appear where baby teeth already existed.
But the “eights” have to literally win their right to life, cutting through the thickness of dense, healthy bone. It is for this reason that the upper wisdom teeth erupt less painfully - the bone of the upper jaw is less dense.
Dentists have long noticed that the later the “eights” begin to grow, the more pain they will cause to their owner. This is explained by the fact that the formation of human bone tissue is completed by the age of 25-27. And every year in her youth she becomes less and less pliable.
Common problems that can be caused by wisdom teeth
Most often, problems that arise during the period when eights emerge from the gums are due to the fact that by the time they appear, a person has already formed strong bone tissue, and there is practically no room left for them in the jaw. All this significantly complicates the process of growth and eruption.
A tooth appearing in an already formed jaw can cause the following problems:
- Development of periconaritis. The peculiarity of this pathology is the formation of a “hood”. In addition to the pain that occurs when food gets on the gums and irritates the nerve endings, pathogenic bacteria accumulate in the “hood”, which can cause inflammatory processes in the oral cavity.
- Cyst formation. Dense gum tissue and the space constrained by the formed jaw forces the erupting tooth to grow in the direction of least resistance. Because of this, its roots can grow into the cavity of the maxillary sinus, forming cysts that become infected, inflamed and remain the cause of toothache for a long time.
- Incorrect position in a row (dystopia). As the third molar grows, it can displace teeth that have already erupted. This disrupts the bite and deforms neighboring teeth.
- Caries formation. Eights cause certain difficulties in daily care, as they are located too deep in the oral cavity. Due to poor hygiene, food particles and bacteria accumulate on their surface, creating a favorable environment for the development of infectious processes.
- Damage to the root of an adjacent tooth. During eruption, the third molar puts pressure on the adjacent tooth, thereby damaging its root. This can provoke an inflammatory process or degeneration of dental tissue.
- Incomplete eruption (retention). Impacted third molars can cause quite a lot of problems - they often cause inflammation of the gums and diseases of adjacent teeth.
If the above problems appear, the dentist may recommend resorting to their removal without waiting for the development of more serious complications.
Prevention of dental diseases
Proper prevention of dental diseases should be carried out from an early age. This will help avoid many problems that lead to constant pain, acute and chronic diseases, as well as tooth loss. Doctors recommend the following methods of prevention:
- daily oral hygiene using toothpaste and rinses;
- removing plaque in the dental office when it appears;
- timely correction of bite and incorrect position of teeth;
- regular dental check-ups.
At the Clinical Brain Institute, you can undergo a comprehensive diagnosis of headaches, as well as receive recommendations for their treatment. Our center has modern equipment that allows you to quickly make an accurate diagnosis and establish the cause of pain. It is important to follow doctors’ instructions and go through all stages of treatment - this will help get rid of dental problems, correct bite and other congenital or acquired pathologies, and also prevent their further development.
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Symptoms and diagnosis
The main symptom indicating activation of third molar growth is pain that occurs when chewing. In the case of the formation of a cyst or “hood,” inflammation develops, which, in addition to pain, can be accompanied by an increase in body temperature, enlargement and soreness of the submandibular lymph nodes, and a headache due to the development of the inflammatory process.
A sign that wisdom teeth are growing abnormally is:
- acute pain in the temporomandibular joint;
- numbness of the jaw and aching pain. This may indicate improper growth inside the bone and possible trauma to the jaw nerve;
- inflammation and enlargement of lymph nodes. As a rule, such a sign indicates that an infectious process has begun;
- redness, swelling of the gums and pain when pressing on it;
- displacement of teeth in a row.
If you have such symptoms, you should immediately visit your dentist for diagnostic measures. Only a specialist can confirm or deny the presence of problems associated with the growth of the third molar.
Diagnosis of an impacted tooth, completely or partially hidden under the gum tissue, is carried out in several ways:
- Palpation and probing;
- Sight radiography - to determine the direction of growth and the number of roots;
- Orthopantomography;
- Computed tomography.
The diagnostic method is determined directly by the doctor; sometimes an examination in the dental chair is sufficient, and sometimes an x-ray is necessary to identify existing problems and predict the risk of their development in the future.
I had a tooth removed and my head hurts: what should I do?
As a rule, tooth extraction is a last resort, which dentists undertake only after all other treatment options have failed to produce the desired results. This procedure is directly related to surgery, which is traumatic for the oral cavity. Therefore, it is not surprising that after a tooth has been removed, your head, ear, gums hurt and you feel a general malaise. However, it is necessary to distinguish those cases when the headache is a consequence of a reaction to damage to bone tissue and gums caused during surgery, from painful sensations signaling post-operative complications.
A tooth has been removed and you have a headache: who is to blame and what to do?
There may be several reasons for headaches after tooth extraction. Here are the most common ones:
- The result of side effects of medications.
- Postoperative condition of the oral cavity.
If the reason that a tooth was removed and your head hurts is precisely the problems listed above, then you should not be afraid of such pain. As a rule, it occurs immediately after the anesthesia wears off and does not last long, subsiding within a few hours, or a maximum of a day. If you are sure that this is your option, we advise you to be patient a little and everything will go away by itself.
Do not take painkillers without the advice of your dentist! After all, they can affect the clinical picture and complicate the timely detection of complications after surgery. Let's move on to just this option: the tooth has been removed, quite a lot of time has passed, and the headache does not subside. You need to be aware that most likely this is not an ordinary migraine, which can be relieved with pills, but a signal from your body that something went wrong after the operation. Of course, maybe this is an individual reaction of your body, or a disease not at all related to tooth extraction. But it is best to seek advice from the dentist who performed the operation, and he will be able to answer your question about why you have a headache after tooth extraction.
Well, the symptoms after which you should definitely make an appointment with a doctor are the occurrence of a headache a few days after the operation. If such pain radiates to the ear, and is also accompanied by an unpleasant odor and taste in the mouth, this may mean that the healing process of the tooth socket is proceeding with complications, and only a professional can help you.
You can get a consultation at the DENTISTRY clinic. Make an appointment by calling +7 (8342) 308–088 or using the form below.
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What to do: treat a wisdom tooth or remove it?
Many people are often interested in the question: is it better to use the services of a dentist at the stage of intramaxillary development and remove a rudimentary tooth so that it does not create problems later?
However, most experts agree that preventive removal of eights is unacceptable. When the tooth has erupted correctly and does not cause any discomfort, it can be preserved. The main thing is to carefully observe the rules of hygiene and visit the dentist on a regular basis to monitor and perform hygiene procedures.
Removal is resorted to in cases where conservative treatment methods cannot achieve the desired result.
The best dental clinic in Ivanteevka
Specialists at Sanident comprehensive dentistry in Ivanteevka offer a wide range of dental services: from caries treatment to prosthetics and restoration. We have innovative equipment, highly experienced staff, high-quality consumables, and at the same time quite affordable prices and promotions. We give a healthy and beautiful smile to everyone!
You can make an appointment with a dentist at our clinic by calling the phone number listed on the website or by visiting us in person at the following addresses:
- Ivanteevka, st. Novoselki, 4 (Ivanteevka railway station);
- Shchelkovo, st. Central, 80 (railway station Voronok).
