What should I do if my wisdom tooth is erupting?

Are your gums bothering you, are they itching, and is the tooth that is cutting through coming in sideways and pricking your gums? All of these symptoms may be signs of wisdom tooth eruption. What to do if your wisdom tooth is cutting through? How can you ease your suffering? Let's figure it out.

What is a wisdom tooth?

First, you need to understand what this wisdom tooth is, how many of them there are, whether they grow in everyone, and at what age they erupt.

The peculiarity of wisdom teeth is that they do not have predecessors – baby teeth. That is, a child grows fewer baby teeth than an adult has permanent teeth.

In addition, wisdom teeth usually erupt in sexually mature people. This process can begin at 18 years of age. Usually, by the age of 25, a person has already erupted all wisdom teeth. But there are exceptions.

Usually, there are four wisdom teeth. But this is not necessary. Some people only have one or two wisdom teeth. There are cases when a person does not have any wisdom teeth at all.

All these options are not a deviation from the norm. Therefore, if you still do not have a single wisdom tooth, and you are already at a mature age, you should not worry and get upset. Especially since these teeth usually erupt, causing considerable discomfort and pain.

In addition, unlike teeth that erupt in childhood, wisdom teeth can take a very long time to grow. In infants, teeth erupt within a few weeks, and in older children, molars also erupt quite quickly. But wisdom teeth can grow for several years. Especially if this process is complicated by various factors, which we will discuss later in this article.

Why do wisdom teeth erupt so late and are they needed? Maybe they are just so-called rudiments? If your eighth tooth grows correctly and without complications, then it can participate in the chewing process. In addition, it can replace the seventh if it is removed or damaged. Moreover, prosthetists can use wisdom teeth to secure bridges. Therefore, if wisdom teeth erupt without complications, do not rush to remove them.

It is important to provide such teeth with proper care. Because wisdom teeth are located at the very edge of the dental row, they can, so to speak, be overlooked when brushing with a toothbrush. This can lead to rapid decay of these teeth and they will have to be removed. Therefore, when brushing your teeth, you need to pay special attention to the eights and brush and rinse them well to prevent the development of caries.

Complications of wisdom teeth eruption

Let's get back to the question: what to do if a wisdom tooth is erupting? As already mentioned, this phenomenon can be accompanied by severe pain or discomfort. In this case, you should contact a dentist, because eruption can be accompanied by some complications.

For example, a wisdom tooth may grow in the wrong direction. It may grow perpendicular to the growth line of the other teeth. That is, in this case, it will either "look" inside the oral cavity and prick the tongue, or prick and cut the inner surface of the gum.

Or the wisdom tooth may grow under the base of the neighboring tooth. This can also cause difficulties in the eruption of the wisdom tooth and cause pain. A consultation with a dentist is simply necessary here.

Another common complication of wisdom tooth eruption is pericoronitis. This obscure word means that the tooth has not fully erupted and is partially covered by the mucous membrane of the gum. This state of affairs can cause discomfort and even lead to gum inflammation.

Firstly, when biting on such a tooth, the mucous membrane is injured, which causes pain. Secondly, there is space between the tooth and the mucous "hood". Food can get there and harmful bacteria can multiply there. They cause inflammation of this "hood" or, scientifically, pericoronitis.

What to do if a wisdom tooth is cutting through and such a complication has arisen? You need to see a doctor. He will help the tooth cut through to the end and cut the hood. This procedure is not very pleasant, but quite bearable and is done quickly.

Another common problem that occurs when wisdom teeth erupt is the lack of space for them on the jaw. This causes crowding of the teeth. The dental arch may become crooked under the pressure of the erupting wisdom teeth. This situation requires medical intervention. In some cases, the only solution is to remove the wisdom teeth and prevent them from growing crooked and putting pressure on other teeth.

There are several other reasons for wisdom teeth removal. One of them is the growth of such a tooth into the cheek. Due to the incorrect location, such a tooth does not participate in the chewing process. Therefore, it is removed to avoid constant trauma to the cheek, which can lead to inflammation.

In addition, as already mentioned, the wisdom tooth or the eighth tooth can grow under the root of its neighbor, that is, the seventh tooth. In this case, it can cause caries of the seventh tooth and even its complete destruction. To save the seventh tooth, the eighth has to be removed.

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What to do when wisdom teeth are erupting?

But even if you managed to avoid all of the above problems, the eruption of such a tooth can be painful. So what to do if a wisdom tooth is cutting through and how to relieve suffering and pain?

If you feel like you can't brush your wisdom tooth and gums properly, or if brushing causes severe pain, you can replace it with rinsing. For example, you can use a warm solution of baking soda and salt. Swish it around your mouth and hold it for a few seconds in the area where your wisdom tooth is erupting. This will help relieve pain and reduce inflammation by killing harmful bacteria.

You can also use baby teething products. For example, Bebident is suitable. This is a liquid that is applied to the gum in the area of teething. It contains an anesthetic that locally numbs the gum. This way, you can avoid using oral painkillers.

How to relieve pain during wisdom tooth eruption using folk methods?

Traditional medicine is rich in various recipes for pain relief and inflammation relief during wisdom teeth eruption. It often uses various medicinal herbs. Here is another recipe for a traditional remedy for toothache: chicory root tincture.

It is prepared as follows: one spoon of dried and crushed root is poured with a glass of boiling water. Put on the fire and boil for about five minutes. When the tincture cools down, it needs to be filtered and can be used for rinsing the mouth. This tincture should not be used more than four times a day. It relieves inflammation and partially relieves gum pain during wisdom tooth eruption.

Similar tinctures can be prepared from other medicinal plants. For example, from oak bark, chamomile or lemon balm. They are prepared in a similar way and used in the same way.

What should you avoid when trying to relieve the pain of wisdom teeth? First, do not warm your cheek or gum, because the pain may be caused by an infection or inflammation. Heating will only make the situation worse, because bacteria multiply faster in a warm environment.

In addition, you should not treat wisdom teeth on your own, you need to see a doctor and get timely and qualified medical care. After all, as already mentioned, the eruption of wisdom teeth can lead to serious consequences. One of them is inflammation of the trigeminal nerve of the face, which can be very painful and difficult to treat.

Another folk remedy for wisdom tooth eruption is calendula tincture. Firstly, calendula has a wound-healing and soothing effect. It will help relieve gum swelling and ease pain. In addition, the tincture is an excellent antiseptic. It will help prevent gum inflammation and stop the growth of harmful bacteria.

If the pain is very severe, you will most likely have to see a doctor and cut the gum to speed up and ease the eruption of the wisdom tooth. Especially if the pain during the eruption of the wisdom tooth is accompanied by swelling of the face and high fever.

Wisdom tooth removal

Unfortunately, removing a wisdom tooth is not an easy task. Firstly, the very location of such a tooth creates difficulties when extracting it. It is difficult to reach it, to hook it, especially if the tooth grows incorrectly or hooks the neighboring seventh tooth.

As a rule, wisdom tooth removal is a rather painful procedure. In some countries, it is performed under general anesthesia, especially if all four wisdom teeth are removed at once. In our country, wisdom teeth are removed under local anesthesia.

The gum heals slowly after wisdom tooth extraction. The patient may experience pain and discomfort for several days. There may be other side effects of wisdom tooth extraction. For example, prolonged numbness of the cheek or tongue. It may last for several days. Sometimes the patient has to see a doctor to get rid of this phenomenon.

It happens that wisdom teeth begin to erupt during a woman's pregnancy. Or, they require treatment or even removal. What to do in such a situation? If the wisdom tooth does not require immediate removal or treatment, it is worth waiting until the first trimester of pregnancy. In the second trimester, the placenta is already formed, which protects the fetus from the harmful effects of drugs or anesthesia.

Therefore, treatment or removal of wisdom teeth after sixteen weeks of pregnancy is much preferable than in the early stages. Of course, it is worth remembering that frequent use of painkillers during pregnancy is very undesirable. Therefore, treatment or removal of wisdom teeth should be carried out for medical reasons, when the benefit of such treatment outweighs the possible harm.