MayIAsk said:
I was at the dentist, they told me to remove my wisdom tooth. i have a hole which could be fixed but they want to rather rip the tooth out.
Because its rather hard to fix the problem.
Do wisdom teeth have any other function besides chewing and replacing possibly lost teeth ?
For teeth pain i did drink Camomille Tea. Did help a little. Any better suggestion?
Hey MaylAsk,
Thought I'd help you out. I've worked as a dental nurse before, so some of what I say is informed by that experience. Though, it's up to you as to whether you want to take my advice or not.
The wisdom teeth are also called third molars. This is because they are the most posterior tooth in a group of teeth known as your molars, and normally they are always the last adult teeth to erupt, and this usually occurs around the age of 17 to mid 20s.
Their function varies from, as you noticed, chewing and grinding food, as well as replacing molars that we might have lost prior.
The reasons why most people have them extracted is:
*Their mouths are too small to fit the wisdom teeth in - a.k.a the rows of teeth are too short.
*The wisdom tooth has become impacted.
*The wisdom tooth has no tooth opposing it on the upper or lower row of teeth, and in this case, it will probably be best to extract it and I'll explain why in a moment.
If there is no room for the teeth to erupt into then what will happen is that the teeth will likely be forced out of alignment and made crooked by the erupting wisdom teeth. Having crooked teeth isn't something that only affects your smile, it also makes it much more difficult to clean your teeth, as well as does it make it harder to properly chew food. If you cannot access areas of your mouth to clean it, then bacteria will tend to hide there and build up. It's important to keep your mouth clean, as it is a major route and thoroughfare for the outside world to your gut and lungs.
It is quite common that people do not have all 4 wisdom teeth. In fact, I've seen an x-ray where someone had 5! If you don't have all 4, then don't panic. I've no idea why some do and some don't, but perhaps look into your blood type? There is some research that suggests that people with Rhesus negative blood groups do not have all their wisdom teeth - it may be worth a look into, it may not be.
Wisdom teeth are impacted essentially when they don't have room to erupt into the mouth properly. In most cases, this will cause some pain, and in rare cases, it may be possible that this causes an infection or cyst. Usually impacted wisdom teeth result from a smaller mouth which doesn't have room for them, and this can also cause the wisdom teeth to be pushed out of alignment so that they no longer sit ready to erupt vertically, but can go horizontally instead. Sometimes the teeth are embedded in the bone of the bottom jaw, or are set to erupt outwards into the cheek, in those cases, it's usually a good idea to remove them.
If an erupted tooth is not opposed by tooth from the opposite row of teeth then that tooth will tend to erupt further from the gums until it reaches a surface to fix itself against when the jaws are clenched shut. Teeth tend to grow until they find a surface which acts as a sort of buttress, if you will, to which they can be opposed (usually it's another tooth always opposing) so that chewing can take place when you eat food. So if you've got a wisdom tooth erupting by itself and there is no tooth directly opposing it, or soon to erupt, then your dentist may decide it's a good idea to extract it. Think about it: how useful is only one row of teeth? Useless.
[FYI: If your gums are acting as the 'other tooth' for your teeth to chew against, then that part of your gums is likely to undergo extra ossification at the body - more bone will build there and widen gum surface so that it acts like a tooth. This will be a pain in the arse if you want fake teeth one day, as the bone under your gums will be too wide to support a mouth piece the sits over them, and so the bone will need to be cut and shaped again so that they are normal widths.]
These are common reasons for wisdom teeth extraction. Always be curious and ask your dentist why he recommends any procedure to you, if you show that you're interested, then there's a good chance he will never shut up about your teeth - a lot of people are terrified of the dentist and don't have the courage to talk to them like the regular people that they are.
Some extra info:
The reason why dentists are seen as separate from other medical professionals, often with dental degrees being taught entirely standalone from a medical degree, is because their role is of great importance to community health. It is not due to a lack of clinical expertise or technical rigour. To the medical students in some schools (I can't say of every country) , they make it abundantly clear that dentistry is a field needing it's own degree separate from the rest of medicine due to the fact that the mouth is the number one access point for all microbiology to enter the body.
It is the #1 access point for all disease.
And to the people who have decaying teeth in the thread, I'm sorry to hear that. Before you blame your dentist though, ask yourself if you've done the following:
*Cleaned your teeth twice a day; once morning and once evening? This always involves FLOSSING FIRST (everyone forgets or does it the wrong way around) then brushing second. You don't need to use fluoride and chemically saturated toothpaste, but avoiding cleaning all together is not a sensible idea.
*Do you smoke? This harms teeth, tongue, and gums. I'm not telling you to quit, but consider what smoking may do to your oral hygiene.
*Do you brush too much, too hard, or too far onto the gums and not the teeth? If you brush for too long or too hard (5 mins ought to be plenty) then you might remove the enamel which protects the teeth. If you brush too close to the gums then you may cause them to recede. When this happens, then you'll find a very sensitive part of the root of the tooth may be uncovered, and this can cause pain or other issues. If you don't know how to brush properly, never be ashamed for it, just ask a dentist or look it up. It can also be an idea worth looking into in the case of using a softer brush.
If you've done all of that, then I'd chase up why you're teeth have holes in them, or why your oral hygiene is hard to maintain.
Hope some of this helps.
HAIL SATAN