Thursday, June 18, 2009

Do Wisdom Teeth Make You Wise?

By Cathy Howard

Wisdom teeth are not really a sign of wisdom, but could be a sign that you will suffer intense pain. The third and final set of molars to come out in your late teens or early twenties is called wisdom teeth. When healthy and well-aligned, they will help you chew and crush your food, wisdom teeth that are misaligned, however, will need to be extracted.

Wisdom teeth can be troublemakers when they do not come out correctly. They can grow out flat against your gum, or grow against neighboring teeth. Sometimes, they can grow angled inward or outward.

Bad alignment of wisdom teeth can cause pressure and damage nearby teeth, the jawbone, or nerves. Wisdom teeth that grow against the second molars can give you tooth decay by trapping plaque and germs.

In some cases, wisdom teeth can stay completely hidden inside the gum and the jawbone. Sometimes, they only partially poke out or erupt through the gum.

Teeth that remain partially or completely hidden in the gum and the jawbone are called impacted teeth.

Wisdom teeth that do not come out completely can cause bacteria to enter around the tooth and cause an infection. This results in pain, swelling, jaw stiffness, and general illness. Partially erupted teeth are also more prone to tooth decay and gum disease because they make cleaning your teeth more difficult.

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