Wisdom Teeth Removal
St. George, UT
 Wisdom teeth are your third molars and present in the very back of your mouth if you have room for them, these generally erupt between ages seventeen and twenty-five. If your wisdom teeth do not have room to come in, it is best to have them removed before the age of 18. Most wisdom teeth cause developmental issues and a variety of unpleasant symptoms. This causes the need for surgical wisdom teeth removal, or tooth extraction, which is a service we provide at Precision Dental Specialties.
Who Needs Wisdom Teeth Removal?
Not everyone needs to have their wisdom teeth extracted. We recommend extraction if the teeth do not have room to erupt completely, cannot be cleaned effectively, impacted, painful, infected, damaging to surrounding tissue, or developing improperly. For instance, they can erupt from the gum at an angle that would cause the surrounding teeth to become misaligned. This is painful and makes oral hygiene very difficult. Bacteria can easily become trapped between the teeth, so it is important that wisdom teeth be removed before they become a major threat to your health.
Procedure
Wisdom teeth removal involves the use of anesthesia, so you will receive pre-op instructions during your consultation. On the day of surgery, we will administer both local and general anesthetic to keep you asleep and numb during the procedure.
Once the wisdom tooth is out, our oral surgeon will sterilize the site and suture the wound, though these often heal very quickly on their own anyway. We will also use gauze to control the bleeding and promote blood clot formation. This process is repeated for each individual wisdom tooth, of which there are up to four total.
Luckily, unlike in the extraction of other teeth, wisdom teeth do not need to be replaced. So, there is no need for a follow-up procedure to place any type of dental restoration.
Recovery
Wisdom teeth extraction is an outpatient procedure, meaning you will have the surgery and be released on the same day. The first step of recovery is waiting for the anesthesia to wear off. You will need someone to drive you home after this procedure.
We will place gauze to control the bleeding before you leave. Though your gum will form a blood clot shortly following surgery, there is still some bleeding, pain, and inflammation management to be done. Keep the gauze clean and change it frequently, as long as the gum is still bleeding. We may also recommend you use ice and over-the-counter pain medication to help with tenderness and swelling.
We will also recommend you drink plenty of water because anesthesia can cause dry mouth. Soft foods are also recommended while the incisions heal. Call Precision Dental Specialties at 435-522-5629 to ask about wisdom teeth removal.
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