When you have just crossed 17 and a sudden toothache emerges from nowhere, you go to the dentist and hear it for the first time, ‘Wisdom tooth’. Although the name is all fancy, your pain might not be.
There are no terms and conditions when it comes to wisdom teeth, they can make their appearance anytime when you become a young adult, while for some, it might be excruciating, some people wouldn’t even have the slightest idea.
Few people might even experience chronic ear pain and sore throat, but how does that happen? Keep reading to learn more about wisdom teeth and their aftereffects.
What Is An Impacted Wisdom Tooth?
An impacted wisdom tooth is the tooth that gets stuck in your jaw causing it to grow at odd angles when your mouth is already packed. They might either appear partially or could never even erupt from the jawline. Impacted teeth may cause discomfort and lead to further complications if not treated properly.
The symptoms of impacted wisdom teeth can appear as tooth pain, headache, swelling in gums, jaw ache, mouth tenderness, locked jaw, or even a sinus infection. It is always better to consult your dentist and remove your wisdom teeth even in the slightest pain restraining them from causing more trouble.
What is an infected wisdom tooth?
As the impacted wisdom tooth is not easy to clean, the bacteria can accumulate, leading to an infection. The symptoms of infected wisdom teeth can include sensitive and bleeding gums, swollen jaw, difficulty swallowing, fever, pus emerging from the gums, sore throat, and pain in the infection site.
It is always advised to seek professional help if you experience any such symptoms as infections can be very serious in no time. An affected tooth can sometimes show no symptoms at all at first, in such cases, you will only know it once it becomes worse.
Can wisdom teeth cause ear pain?
As your jaw is located so close to your ears, there is a chance that wisdom teeth could directly affect your ears. Sprouting of wisdom teeth can cause a feeling of pressure or inflammation in the jaws. This inflammation shows a tendency to spread to your ears and can even cause painful sore throats.
Diagnosing wisdom teeth while you are experiencing ear pain will help you determine if it is caused by wisdom teeth or not. When both your jaw and ear are experiencing pain, it might be hard to distinguish the origin, as in a few cases you might be experiencing tooth pain because of undiagnosed ear infections.
In some cases, these impacted wisdom teeth do not cause any trouble at all but if you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above including sore throat or ear pain, make sure to immediately book an appointment with your dentist.
Treatment options
If you suffer from any symptoms that might be possibly caused by wisdom teeth, consulting your dentist is the primary step, they might do a dental examination and take an x-ray to see if your wisdom teeth are impacted. There a plenty of treatment options available for dealing with impacted wisdom teeth.
The most common method is dental extraction where your wisdom teeth will be permanently removed. It is done by most dental clinics. However, after doing a thorough analysis of your teeth, your dentist will let you know which treatment option will work best for you. While removing your wisdom teeth, they will sedate you using an IV or happy gas to promote relaxation.
When to see a dentist?
Some people would not even have the slightest idea that wisdom teeth are emerging in their teeth while some people might experience extreme symptoms such as pain and swelling in the jaw, bleeding gums, difficulty opening the mouth, persisting sore throat, and headache. You should definitely see a dentist if you find yourself suffering from these symptoms as the condition has gotten already worse.
Conclusion
There might be plenty of reasons why you might be experiencing toothache but if you are a young adult and still haven’t gotten your wisdom teeth yet, there is a fair chance for the reason to be the appearance of the third molars. Some people might face extreme pain with the eruption of wisdom teeth that can even spread as chronic ear pain and sore throat affecting your overall well-being. Therefore, it is very essential to consult your doctor to examine the cause and take the necessary treatments immediately.
