For most patients, we recommend the removal of wisdom teeth. Reasons can include:
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Insufficient Space: A common reason wisdom teeth are removed is due to a lack of space. The jaw is not big enough to provide the room they need to correctly go into position. This lack of space may cause the wisdom teeth to twist out of alignment or to push neighboring teeth out of their alignment. This can cause changes to your bite and to your jaw hinge.
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Impacted: Along with insufficient space, wisdom teeth are often impacted. This means that they are unable to fully erupt above the gum line. Impacted teeth leave spacing between the tooth and gum tissue, leaving room for bacteria to settle and hide. This is often a cause of decay and gum disease.
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Difficult to Clean: Wisdom teeth are difficult to clean due to being impacted, and their distance or positioning in your mouth. Many patients are unable to properly clean wisdom teeth because they are difficult if not impossible to get to with a toothbrush or floss. Bacteria can generally find many hiding spaces that they will not be disturbed from, causing infection to occur.