Pre-Prosthetic Treatments

Wisdom teeth – your third molars – are the last teeth to form, and the last to emerge in the mouth. As a result, not always is there enough space for them to properly grow in. If your wisdom teeth are causing you pain, growing in crooked, damaging neighbouring teeth, difficult to clean, or already infected, they need to be removed.

Early removal of wisdom teeth is a pro-active approach to avoid future complications such as cavities or damage to neighbouring teeth; delayed healing; development of cysts or tumours around the wisdom tooth; increase risk of infection of the wisdom tooth or neighbouring teeth; increased risk of post-procedure jaw nerve irritation or damage; or increased risk of jaw fracture.

The procedure usually 1 hour to complete, but can be less, depending on the number and status of the wisdom teeth that need to be removed.

The wisdom tooth removal can be completed under sedation, to help reduce your anxiety.

Sometimes a tooth has to be removed from the socket in the bone. It might have decay, gum disease or a fracture beyond what we can repair. Or we may need to remove it for space or prior to placing orthodontic braces. And some teeth are poorly positioned and need to be removed. A common example of this is the ‘third molar’ or wisdom tooth.

Your periodontist will make the recommendation for a tooth extraction based on your examination and radiographs (usually between the ages of 17-22). Not all wisdom teeth have to be removed; in some cases, there is adequate room and the wisdom tooth can come in and function normally. In other cases, the wisdom tooth stays buried in bone and is unlikely to erupt. And in some cases, the wisdom tooth never forms at all. The most common wisdom tooth problem occurs when the tooth comes into the mouth only part of the way and then stalls. In these instances, it is best to remove these teeth at a recommended time and not wait until they have caused damage, or become infected.