Wisdom Teeth Extractions

At Redwood Dental Smiles in Castro Valley, we do our best to save our patients’ teeth. But when it comes to the wisdom teeth, extractions are often necessary. Patients may naturally wonder why that is, which is why we wanted them to understand the particular challenges of wisdom teeth.


Modern humans, who eat a diet of soft foods, don’t usually develop as large jaw bones as our ancestors did. As a result, there often is not enough room in the arch of the teeth to accommodate the wisdom teeth, which are the largest. To makes matters worse, the wisdom teeth often do not begin to erupt until a person is in their late teens, after their other teeth have undergone orthodontic correction. (Extensive orthodontic correction can only be done on children and adolescents, whose skull bones have not fully fused together). Therefore, the wisdom teeth often either get trapped under the gum line, which creates a cavity hazard, or are able to push through by knocking other teeth out of alignment.


Dentists use x-rays to monitor the progression of wisdom teeth before they erupt. If it looks like they aren’t going to make it through or are stuck, the dentist will probably recommend extraction. This is a safe, routine procedure that usually does not have any effect on the other teeth.


Redwood Dental Smiles is operated by Dr. Vijay Munagala at 20212 Redwood Rd, Suite 101, Castro Valley, California, 64546. To schedule an appointment, visit Redwood Dental Smiles or call 510-886-6416.


 

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