As you or your children approach adulthood, this could mean the arrival of up to four new teeth in the rear of your mouth. These additional molars are referred to as wisdom teeth, or third molars, and they can mean serious trouble for your smile. In today’s blog, your El Paso, TX, dentists talk about extracting wisdom teeth.
The Dangers of Your Third Molars
These new teeth typically arrive in our late teens to early 20s. Sometimes all four arrive at once, while for others only one or two may erupt. When they arrive, there is little room in your smile for them, which may mean misalignment as they crowd your smile. This in turn increases the risk of tooth decay and gum disease, not to mention the impact on your smile’s appearance. They could also only have room to partially erupt, causing an impaction. Wisdom teeth are also linked to dental infection too! To prevent these complications, we want to remove them before they even erupt.
Planning Your Tooth Extraction
The tooth extraction is a safe and gentle procedure, one that usually takes as little as 30 minutes to complete in some cases. To begin, we will take detailed digital x-rays of your smile. The technology uses 90% less radiation when compared to traditional systems, and provides detailed digital images chairside. No need to wait for development! We then use the images to identify the position of your wisdom teeth so we can plan the extraction and avoid sensitive sinus cavities and nerve tissues.
Removing the Teeth
We will administer a local anesthetic and dental sedation to help you enter a calm and relaxed state, with little to no memory of the procedure. We then open the gums above the wisdom teeth so we can access and extract them carefully. We then suture the area closed. The sedation takes time to wear off, so you will need a friend or family member to bring you home.
Aftercare
We will send you home with instructions for afterward and prescriptions for medication to help the area heal properly. For the first day, you need to eat soft foods, avoid straw use, and avoid poking the area with your tongue. A clot needs to form and you don’t want to dislodge it. We then remove the sutures in a follow up visit. If you have any questions about extracting wisdom teeth, then contact our team today to learn more.
TALK TO SUNNY SMILES IN EL PASO, TX, ABOUT REMOVING THIRD MOLARS
We’re ready to help protect your smile with a tooth extraction. If you’re ready to schedule a visit to discuss your third molars, then contact our Sunny Smiles location on N Zaragoza Rd in El Paso, TX at 915-849-9000.