With the end of year fast approaching, so too are the summer holidays! For busy high-schoolers and uni students this can be the perfect time to have your wisdom teeth removed.
Most people see wisdom tooth surgery as a rite of passage and an excuse to eat ice cream, but there is a lot more to it than that! Here are some fun facts about your third molars:
Wisdom teeth get their name from the age when they typically grow in. Wisdom teeth usually don’t grow out until the dental arch becomes larger – at around 17-25 years of age or “the age of wisdom”.
An estimated 85% of wisdom teeth will eventually need to be removed. According to the Australian Dental Association Inc (ADA), removal of troublesome wisdom teeth should usually be done as soon as possible so that pain, infections or other problems do not get worse.
Nine out of 10 people have at least 1 impacted wisdom tooth. A tooth becomes impacted when there is not enough room for the tooth to enter the mouth in full function. If left alone, this could cause damage to neighbouring teeth or cause infection.
The options for removal of your wisdom teeth is dependent on the expected complexity of the extraction and your comfort level. For more complex cases, your dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon and/or recommend sedation for treatment.
Your suitability to undergo these treatment options be fully assessed, and a solution then tailored to your individual circumstances.
For patients for whom sedation is recommended, Queen Street Dental is one of the few Brisbane dental clinics with the facilities to provide both IV sedation and general anaesthesia.