Wisdom Tooth, Impaction and Odontectomy
The wisdom tooth is commonly described as the last molar of both the left and right sides of the upper and lower jaws. They can also be termed as the third molar in the sequence. Some would say it is the most popular tooth but yet it would also be described as the least performing tooth (if not totally useless) of all. Apparently, they are the last to emerge normally during later stage of teenage life and for some, at the early stage of adulthood. During its emergence, it is usually accompanied by a slight pain and sometimes with a slight fever due to the process of its protrusion to the gums.
A common problem with wisdom teeth is impaction. Impaction can be described as the failure of the tooth to protrude normally such that it may position itself under another tooth or worse, emerge diagonally pushing on to the tooth immediately beside it. This may cause the erupting tooth to show partially or not at all, having itself embedded just below the gum line and jawbone. Such occurrence may be accompanied by pain and at times, causes tooth damage to both protruding and surrounding teeth.
For this problem, a procedure that can be performed immediately is called Odontectomy. Odontectomy is a dental surgical procedure done on impacted tooth. The procedure includes cutting into the gums to expose the impacted tooth and bone area covering the tooth. In some cases, the procedure may include drilling into the bone to access the tooth more easily. Sections of the tooth may be removed piece by piece as forceps are used to keep the socket open. Serious cases may require general anesthesia. However, in regular cases, local anesthesia will be enough to complete the procedure. There will be instances that the root may be left behind deliberately. This is called partial Odontectomy or Coronectomy where only the crown of the tooth is eventually removed leaving behind the root. This procedure requires lesser or may totally eliminate the use of drilling into the bone which means faster procedure and less invasive action into the patients bone and gum areas.
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