If You Don’t Remove Impacted Teeth
Any tooth that doesn’t emerge properly through the bone and gums is considered an impacted tooth, though the teeth that become impacted most often are the wisdom teeth. The wisdom teeth, or third molars, are located at the very back of the mouth and are the last teeth to appear in the adult mouth. For these reasons, it’s relatively common for the wisdom teeth to become impacted, lacking sufficient room to erupt in the proper position and without damaging the adjacent teeth or upsetting the alignment of the dentition. If you’ve recently learned that you have an impacted tooth or impacted teeth, you and your dentist will discuss the risks this may pose and devise your treatment plan. In some cases, it’s okay to leave impacted teeth where they are, though they require periodic monitoring to ensure no complications arise. With routine dental checkups that include x-rays, your dentist can make sure your impacted teeth aren’t causing any issues and can remain where they are, and they can plan and implement treatment when and if it becomes necessary.
If your dentist determines that you have one or more impacted teeth that are positioned to cause issues, they will recommend surgery to extract these teeth before issues can arise. If surgical extraction is recommended and you’re hesitant to commit to the procedure, it’s important to consider the extent of complications and damage that can occur if you don’t remove impacted teeth and to value the input of your dental team. While some impacted teeth can remain in place without leading to problems, your dentist knows best; if they say surgical extraction should happen sooner than later, they’ve evaluated your impacted teeth and determined that the risks of leaving the teeth intact are greater than the very minimal risks associated with surgical extraction.
Impacted teeth that aren’t extracted can easily crowd the other teeth, leading to shifts in the dental alignment and overlapping teeth. This happens most often in patients with smaller mouths, and it can reverse existing orthodontic repairs and necessitate additional orthodontia to restore the alignment of the teeth. Some impacted teeth can even begin to emerge at unusual angles, pressing against nearby teeth and damaging not only the alignment but the teeth themselves. The pressure and damage caused by crowding can be painful, and crowded, overlapping teeth are also more difficult to clean. Additionally, because the wisdom teeth are so far back in the mouth, they can be more difficult to clean even when they’re not impacted; in any case, wisdom teeth and impacted teeth can easily trap food debris and bacteria that contributes to bad breath, tooth decay, and painful, destructive gum disease. Impacted wisdom teeth can also cause cysts to form in the socket where the tooth develops, and these cysts can damage the bone, teeth, and nerves and require surgical removal. If an impacted tooth becomes infected, the infection can spread to the bloodstream and could even prove life-threatening. While serious health complications like this are relatively rare, impacted teeth can cause a host of oral health issues, and, if your dentist recommends removing your impacted teeth, doing so sooner than later can nip these issues in the bud and help you maintain your healthy, strong smile.