3 Things That Could Happen If You Don't Have Your Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removed

If you are currently suffering from the pain of impacted wisdom teeth, you have probably been told that you should have them removed. Even though you might be dreading the trip to the dentist, the situation can get worse if you don't take care of it.  These are some of the things that can happen if you don't have your impacted wisdom teeth removed.

1. Ongoing Pain

Since your wisdom teeth have been growing in, you have probably been experiencing discomfort. Now that it has become infected, you're probably experiencing even more pain. Although taking over-the-counter pain medication and using numbing gel can help ease the pain temporarily, this is not a good long-term solution. Even though you might not be looking forward to having your wisdom teeth pulled, you'll probably find that you'll experience a lot of relief once it has been done. Then, you won't have to worry about dealing with ongoing pain.

2. Misalignment of Other Teeth

If you have straight teeth -- whether they grew in properly from the start or if you have had braces or other orthodontic treatments -- you probably want to keep them that way. Even if your teeth are already misaligned, you probably don't want them to get any worse. Unfortunately, impacted wisdom teeth can destroy the alignment of your teeth. This happens because each wisdom tooth has grown in incorrectly, which can push your teeth out of line and can cause crowding.

3. Decay

An impacted wisdom tooth can be more prone to infection and can cause bacteria to breed in your mouth. Along with potentially causing the impacted tooth to decay, it can also lead to decay of your other teeth. Keeping the area as clean as possible can help prevent infection and bacteria, but it can be tough to do so. This is because the placement of your wisdom teeth -- at the very back of your mouth -- can make proper brushing and flossing difficult, and a tooth that hasn't fully broken through can be impossible to clean. Plus, the misalignment of an impacted tooth can also make cleaning tricky. Having your impacted teeth removed can help prevent all of this decay and can make your daily cleaning routine a whole lot easier.

As you can see, impacted wisdom teeth can cause a lot of problems and should be removed. Luckily, you should be able to find a good dentist in your area that will offer a full service, board certified impacted tooth extraction. Contact a dentist, like those at Central PA Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons LLC and other locations, for more help and info.