Impacted Teeth Treatment: Cost, Symptoms, Side Effects, Recovery Time
If you recently visited the dentist complaining of bleeding gums or pain while chewing and biting and were informed of an impacted tooth, this article is for you. Learn about the problem, including impacted teeth treatment and side effects.
What Is Impacted Tooth?
Impacted teeth is a condition where a newly emerging tooth cannot pass through the gum line to grow into its position. The tooth remains stuck or ‘impacted’ in the gum tissue, leading to other dental problems like tooth decay and could even be fatal. It could affect children when permanent teeth replace milk teeth, or wisdom teeth emerge in adults. There could be several reasons for the emerging tooth to be impacted. The newly emerging tooth could be impacted in children if the primary tooth hasn’t fallen off before the permanent teeth have emerged. Wisdom teeth could be impacted if the jaw isn’t large enough to accommodate the newly emerging tooth. Sometimes, the newly emerging tooth could grow tilted, twisted, or displaced while emerging, causing the later emerging teeth to be impacted. When the impacted tooth pushes against the next teeth in line, it becomes misaligned, causing a misaligned bite. Also, food particles are likely to be trapped in these teeth, causing dental problems like bad breath and plaque formation.
What Are The Symptoms Of Impacted Tooth?
It’s difficult to diagnose an impacted tooth without consulting a dentist. But generally, impacted tooth symptoms include:
- Bad breath or halitosis
- Difficulty in opening your mouth
- Pain in the gums or jaw area
- Headache
- Swelling or tenderness of the gums around the impacted tooth
- Bad taste while biting
Impacted Teeth Treatment
Before beginning impacted teeth treatment, the doctor may prescribe an X-ray to look for signs of damage to the teeth. Treatment depends on the condition of the impacted tooth.
Symptom-free Impacted Wisdom Tooth
If the impacted wisdom tooth isn’t causing a problem, the dentist may suggest a wait-and-watch approach, i.e., to regularly monitor until a problem develops. However, some dentists recommend removing the wisdom tooth as it could lead to potential issues if there are not enough teeth to erupt and it becomes difficult to clean. If the impacted teeth are maxillary canines, the dentist may suggest minor surgery to expose the tooth and fix braces or brackets to help the canine tooth move into the correct position.
If the impacted wisdom tooth is causing unpleasant side effects, the dentist may suggest extraction surgery. This is because they’re not really needed, and prolonging treatment could only affect the other teeth. Tooth extraction is an outpatient procedure done under local anaesthesia. The entire process lasts for less than an hour. Impacted teeth recovery time lasts for 7 to 10 days, but you should be able to resume regular work within a few days.
Impacted Teeth Treatment Side Effects
Impacted teeth treatment involving wisdom tooth extraction is painful and could cause bleeding and swelling of the jaw. You may find it difficult to open your jaw until the wound heals. Until then, the dentist may suggest applying a cold compress and taking pain medication.
Visit us if you are looking for an impacted teeth treatment hospital in India. Dr Sunil Richardson and his team are happy to support any concerns, helping you recuperate and providing total care during the treatment.