Poor alignment of wisdom teeth can crowd or damage adjacent teeth, the jawbone, or nerves

If a wisdom tooth doesn’t have room to grow (impacted wisdom tooth), resulting in pain, infection or other dental problems, you’ll likely need to have it pulled. Wisdom tooth extraction may also be recommended even if impacted teeth aren’t causing problems, as a preventive measure against potential future problems.

Before removing a wisdom tooth, you will be given a local anesthetic to numb the area where the tooth will be removed. To remove the wisdom tooth, we will open up the gum tissue over the tooth and take out any bone that is covering the tooth. The tissue connecting the tooth to the bone will be separated and the tooth then removed.

Sometimes tooth may have to be cut into smaller pieces to make it easier to remove. If the tooth is not impacted, it may also be removed without opening up the gum tissue or removing any bone.

After the tooth is removed, you may need stitches. Some stitches dissolve over time and some have to be removed after a few days. A folded cotton gauze pad placed over the wound will help stop the bleeding.