by Bob Lion

Created on: April 21, 2009   Last Updated: April 22, 2009

Without a doubt, getting my wisdom teeth moved is one of the best decisions I have made in a while regarding my health. Many ponder about the decision and often times it depends on the situation that the person is in. However, in my case, I was having various difficulties due to their presence and at times my gums would face excruciating pain. At other times, I would just face a slight and mild discomfort in my jaw and my gums.

Wisdom teeth can cause many problems in your future if they are not removed. They should ultimately be taken care of on a "wait to see" basis but if they are not removed when any pain is felt they can cause a plethora of problems. Some of these significant problems include: infected gums, decay, crowding and structural damage and cyst formation.

The reason why wisdom teeth often cause problems is due to the fact that they become impacted or unable to move into proper position. They grow at a rampart rate and often grow any way possible which means that they can also grow at an angle or even sideways. Sometimes they can break through the gum surface or even remain beneath the gum.

Infected gums can have a detrimental impact on your teeth. When the tooth has only partially come up from the surface, bacteria can easily enter the opening and cause infection to the gum. The best way to treat this is to get the wisdom teeth pulled before any sort of infection can occur.

Decay is caused due to the difficulty of cleaning partially emerged wisdom teeth. Plague, which contains deadly bacteria, forms on the surface and the fallow part of the tooth which creates cavities.

Crowding from wisdom teeth can cause an array of problems. For instance, crowding causes teeth to lose their proper position and cleaning becomes much harder. Structural problems also occur due to a lack of space in the mouth.

The best time to get wisdom teeth removed is before the roots have a chance to be anchored to the jaw. This is between the ages of 16 and 19 because as we age, the denser our jawbones become which makes removal more difficult.

The risks with getting wisdom teeth removed are generally mild but include side effects from the anesthetic or bleeding. Infection may also occur however the overall benefit outweighs the small risks. Another complication that may occur is numbness which is caused by the injured nerves near where the tooth is removed. The nerve will repair itself and is often temporary.

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