It is also very common when the wisdom tooth is erupting you can have swelling, limited mouth opening or some pain.

Not everyone has wisdom teeth, or you may have 1-4 or more in some patients (although very uncommon). As our jaws have developed or shortened through evolution; many patients do not have enough room for them and they become impacted.

Impacted wisdom teeth means they are jammed against the tooth in front and cannot erupt into the mouth.

They can partially come into the mouth and this then creates a pathway to the soft tissues for bacteria from the mouth hand this is when infections occur.

The different levels of impaction make the wisdom teeth more difficult to remove. In general, the younger you are, the easier it is to remove the wisdom teeth and recovery is quicker.

If you leave your impacted wisdom teeth you may risk gum disease, decay of the adjacent teeth which often could lead to their loss if not treated.

When is the ideal time to remove my wisdom teeth?

Your dentist will do a thorough examination and take an OPG x-ray to determine if you have enough room for the wisdom teeth to erupt in to the mouth; and that you can successfully floss and brush around the teeth with ease.

If the answer is that you do not have enough room, you would be best advised to have them removed as early as possible to reduce difficulty and decrease recovery time.

If you have had orthodontics, there maybe many orthodontists will want wisdom teeth removed prior to de-banding so as to protect against relapse of your orthodontic treatment.