What Are Impacted Wisdom Teeth?
Impacted wisdom teeth is a term referred to a situation when your wisdom teeth are not allowed to fully erupted into your mouth due to a barrier such as your gums or jawbone preventing them from fully erupting.
Types of impacted wisdom teeth
- Full Bony Impactions
- Partial Bony Impactions
- Soft Tissue Impactions
- Full Bony Impactions – When the crown of the wisdom tooth is embedded in the jaw bone. For this to be considered a full bony impaction according to the American Dental Association, 51% or greater of the crown of the tooth has to be covered in jaw bone. These are the most difficult and most invasive wisdom teeth to remove
- Partial Bony Impactions – When the crown of the wisdom tooth is partially embedded in the jaw bone. For this to be considered a partial bony impaction according to the ADA, 50% or less of the crown of the tooth has to be covered in jaw bone.
- Soft Tissue Impactions – When the crown of the wisdom tooth is out of the jaw bone, but the crown is partially covered by gums. These are the easiest and least invasive wisdom teeth to remove.
Why does it matter how impacted your wisdom teeth are?
How impacted your wisdom teeth are affects three major things:
- Cost. The more your wisdom teeth are impacted, the more cost associated with your procedure. To learn more about how much it costs to have your wisdom teeth removed, click here.
- Invasiveness and Pain. The more impacted your wisdom teeth are, the more invasive the procedure to remove your wisdom teeth. Pain works hand in hand with that in the sense that typically the more invasive your procedure, the more post operative pain you will likely experience. To learn more about the pain associated with wisdom teeth removal, click here.
- Potential complications. The more impacted your wisdom teeth are, the more potential complications you can experience such as nerve damage, excessive swelling, etc. make sure you pick a surgical specialist such as an oral surgeon or periodontist to make sure you experience the least amount of potential complications.
Final advice
Your wisdom teeth are going to most likely going to bother you at some point in your life so you should get them removed as soon as possible, preferably as a teenager or in your early twenties. That way you can have the easiest healing and least amount of pain possible. If you’re already past that point, you can take your wisdom teeth out if you’ve experienced any symptoms related to your wisdom teeth.
