When it comes to growing permanent teeth, the experience is rarely painful. However, when you begin to grow your wisdom teeth, all of that changes. While it is true that some individuals manage to have their wisdom teeth come in with little to no pain at all, more often than not, people begin to be bothered when their third molars start to exfoliate.
What are wisdom teeth?
Also known as third molars, your wisdom teeth are molars which are found at the very back of your mouth
When do they erupt?
Also a sign of maturity, wisdom teeth begin to erupt when a person is in his or her late teens or early twenties. However, it is very much possible that your wisdom teeth might never erupt. This is because the wisdom teeth only emerge when there is space enough for it to erupt to. If you have overcrowding of teeth, your wisdom teeth may never have a space to come into.
How many wisdom teeth can one person have?
Each person normally has four wisdom teeth, one for each side of the mouth including the top and bottom sets. However, the number of wisdom teeth have been dwindling according to a study. In fact, around 25 percent of individuals actually have at least one wisdom tooth missing.
What does it mean to have an impacted tooth?
When all of your permanent teeth are already crowding in a very small jaw space, then it might be impossible for your wisdom teeth to erupt normally. What could happen is that the tooth stays underneath the gums and can cause pain in the process. If there is a little space for your wisdom tooth to erupt into, you may end up with a sub-impacted wisdom tooth wherein only a small portion of the tooth manages to erupt.
What is the likelihood that you would have an impacted tooth?
According to a study, around 65 to 72 percent of individuals end up with at least one wisdom tooth being impacted. Some of the signs and symptoms of an impacted tooth include pain and discomfort. This could be due to the pressure of the impacted tooth as it presses on surrounding dental tissues including gums and teeth. At the same time, tiny crevices which are developed by the impacted teeth can also lead plaque to develop in these areas which can accelerate tooth decay and lead to infection.
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