The wisdom teeth are dental pieces that in most of the cases are painful protagonists, that is the importance of its extraction. However, what really are the wisdom teeth?
These teeth are found in each of the buccal quadrants we have, meaning that we have a wisdom tooth in each quadrant. They are at the very back of the mouth and in the case of appearing, they usually do it around the 20’s or so. However, there are cases in which these never come out and even cases in which only some of them appear.
Process of extracting the wisdom tooth
Before going through the details, we must say that the dentist is the one who evaluates each situations and there may be cases in which it is not convenient to extract them.
Review by the specialist
This previous step is a must-do. Although the location of these teeth is known, the dentist always has to perform an x-ray to know the state in which they are positioned. Only from these diagnostic tests a completely reliable protocol of action can be established.
Administration of local anesthesia
Once the action plan has been drawn up, the surgeon provides the necessary amount of local anesthesia. An anesthetic that is not only used to eliminate any discomfort during the intervention but to deduct stress and anxiety. In extreme cases you can proceed to completely sedate the patient although it is not usual.
Enlargement of the alveolus
In order to work more comfortably, the surgeon proceeds to expand the alveolus -the hole in which the wisdom tooth is located-. The instrument used for this purpose is what is known as an elevator or dumper. This step is very important since is the one that provides greater comfort to the specialist during the labor.
Removal of the tooth
Once the alveolus has already been enlarged enough, the surgeon will begin to move the tooth from one side to the other. The objective of this movement is to leave the wisdom tooth loose enough to proceed with its extraction. The forceps used for the extraction of wisdom teeth has nothing to do with others of these kind since this tooth requires special instruments.
Once the extraction itself has been carried out, post-operative care will be done. Here are some aspects that are very important for the patient to take into account.
- Gradually, it is necessary to make sure that the effect of the anesthesia subsides. This step is especially important when the patient had to be sedated.
- Once the anesthesia is no longer effective, analgesics can be administered to reduce possible pain in the area.
It may also be helpful to administer other medications with the aim of reducing possible inflammations.