Should Your Wisdom Teeth Be Removed?
A lot of my patients, and people throughout the Jackson, MS area wonder about their wisdom teeth or the wisdom teeth of their children. Your wisdom teeth, or third molars, are teeth that grow in as you “gain wisdom”. In simple terms, your wisdom teeth grow in during your late teens or your early twenties. The biggest question regarding wisdom teeth is if they should be removed. 
In the past, there was some debate whether your wisdom teeth should remain. Many dental professionals believed that even if they did not grow in correctly, and came in sideways, they could be used as a healthy abutment should you ever need to have your teeth replaced. However, it was later determined that wisdom teeth would not actually make great bases and an abutment attached to dental implants were a much better option. In addition to having no real purpose, due to the location in the back of the mouth, wisdom teeth are extremely hard to keep clean and can cause harm to your gums, bone, and other teeth. Additionally, it is rare that your wisdom teeth grow in properly. If they do not grow in properly, and become impacted or partially impacted, your wisdom teeth can cause disease, cysts, and serious infections.
This being said, there are not many reasons to keep your wisdom teeth. The main two reasons that people opt to keep their wisdom teeth is some underlying medical condition, or a fear of the procedure. However, we recommend getting your wisdom teeth out as soon as possible. The reason for this, is that as you grow older, the root of the tooth will develop more and you will not be able to recover as fast.
If you have any questions regarding wisdom teeth or the procedure, feel free to contact us today.
