Dental Blog

How To Prevent Wisdom Tooth Problems

Wisdom tooth problems are very common and most people are likely to run into them sooner or later.

They happen because most people’s mouths are just not large enough for the wisdom teeth to grow in normally. As a result, they usually get stuck, or impacted part way in. In this position, they are highly prone to infection. The only long-term solution is to remove the wisdom teeth.

Until you do so, the best advice we can give you is to get your wisdom teeth checked by your dentist. This will require a visual examination and x-rays. If the wisdom teeth are judged to be candidates for removal, the best thing is to schedule the extractions at your convenience. If you wait for them to bother you first, they can get very swollen and infected. That will result in needless suffering on your part since you’ll need a course of antibiotics to quiet the infection before you can have them removed.

If they get infected and painful before you can remove them, the best treatment is to rinse with warm salt water (1/2 tsp. salt in a tall glass of warm water), every one to two hours, non-steriodial anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as Advil 400-800 mg every 4 to 6 hours (if not allergic) and see a dentist to get a prescription for antibiotics.

* Please note that we cannot guarantee that the solutions offered here are definitely applicable to your condition since we have not examined your mouth. However, if you know the solutions that are generally applied to dental problems, you will be  much better informed  and will likely make better decisions in your own dental health care.