Oral Health Care Zone for Grown-ups - Oral Problems - Impacted Wisdom Teeth

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Impacted Wisdom
Teeth

Discoloration of Teeth

Oral Trauma

Sensitive teeth

Toothache and
Painful Gingivae

Painful temporo-
mandibular joint

Bad Breath

Irregular Teeth

Mobile Teeth

Acidic erosion of teeth

Bruxism

Reduced saliva
secretion

Cracked Teeth
Tooth Abscess

Cause of impacted
wisdom teeth
Possible consequences of
impacted wisdom teeth
Management

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Wisdom teeth usually erupt between the ages of 17 to 25. It is the third molar of permanent teeth. There are 4 wisdom teeth, located at the ends of the upper and lower jaws. It is common to have one or more wisdom teeth missing. For some people, their wisdom teeth can normally erupt, while for some others, their wisdom teeth may not successfully erupt and may become impacted.

Photograph of an x-ray film showing a slanted wisdom tooth with its tooth crown pushing the tooth in front, this results in an impacted wisdom tooth.

Cause of impacted wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth often do not have enough room to erupt because modern human beings have a smaller jawbone. This causes wisdom teeth to grow slanted, horizontally, or even to be completely buried inside the jawbone.

Animation showing normal growth of a wisdom tooth. The tooth crown can normally erupt and align with the adjacent tooth.
Wisdom tooth

Animation showing abnormal growth of a wisdom tooth. Its growth is that grows slanted and hindered by the tooth in front, resulting in its tooth crown beingis partially buried inside the jawbone.

Impacted wisdom tooth

Oral Health Care Zone for Grown-ups - Oral Problems - Impacted Wisdom Teeth - Cause of impacted wisdom teeth