Wisdom Teeth Specialist

What are wisdom teeth?

Wisdom teeth refer to the last teeth to grow out in your adult life. In most cases, wisdom teeth grow in when you’re a teenager or in your early 20’s.

Wisdom teeth are located directly behind the molars. Keep in mind that wisdom teeth don’t always grow in. Sometimes, they’ll stay lodged in your gum tissue or only partially emerge.  

What causes wisdom tooth pain?

Wisdom tooth pain occurs when the teeth surrounding the wisdom teeth are impacted.

An impacted wisdom tooth refers to when there isn’t enough space in your mouth for the wisdom tooth to grow in. When this happens, it pushes neighboring teeth to make room. Consequently, you might experience an acute toothache.

What are the common symptoms of impacted wisdom teeth?

When you’re suffering from an impacted wisdom tooth, it’s very possible that you’ll experience inflammation or bleeding in the gumline. This is because the growing wisdom tooth is pressing on the nerves in your gum tissue.

Nerve pressure can also lead to toothaches and headaches. Other symptoms of impacted wisdom teeth include, but are not limited to:

• Continuous bad breath
• Redness and tenderness in the gumline
• Swelling
• Difficulty opening and closing mouth
• Tooth decay
• Formation of cysts
• Temporomandibular joint disorders

If you’ve noticed any of the above symptoms, get in touch with Oxnard Dentistry as soon as possible.

How are wisdom teeth removed?

Before undergoing wisdom teeth surgery, Dr. Keihani orders a CAT scan to determine how many wisdom teeth need to be extracted.

In most cases, a wisdom tooth extraction shouldn’t take longer than an hour. In some cases, Dr. Keihani and his team might recommend that you get more than one tooth removed at a time. This can increase the length of your treatment.

During the procedure, Dr. Keihani gives you a local anesthetic to ensure that the treatment area is as numb as possible. If you prefer, he can also give you a general anesthetic, though you’ll need to discuss your eligibility for general anesthesia before the operation.

Once you’re anesthetized, Dr. Keihani makes a small incision in your bone and gum tissue to remove the tooth. He then uses dissolvable stitches to close it up. This ensures that you don’t need to make a follow-up appointment for him to remove the stitches.

If you think you’re due for a wisdom tooth extraction, get in touch with Oxnard Dentistry today by phone or online.