What are the side effects of wisdom tooth extraction?

Wisdom teeth are commonly known as establishment teeth. As people age, wisdom teeth will grow from the innermost part of their teeth at a certain age. The so-called wisdom teeth are what we often call establishment teeth. Their growth symbolizes the arrival of wisdom. Due to the imperfect eruption of wisdom teeth, pus is easily accumulated around the gums. The incidence of impacted wisdom teeth is relatively high, which can cause periodontitis, gingivitis, toothache and other diseases. When these symptoms appear, many people will choose to remove the wisdom teeth.

Question 1

The term "sequelae of wisdom tooth extraction" is not quite accurate. Let me just talk about the discomfort that patients who have had their wisdom teeth extracted may experience a few days to a few years after the extraction. This is for reference only.

1. Some patients, about 5%, feel food stuck in the posterior teeth after wisdom teeth extraction. This symptom is very likely real. The reason is that after the wisdom teeth are extracted, tooth No. 7 moves slightly backward, and the gap between tooth No. 6 becomes larger, causing food stuck in the posterior teeth. The solution is to try to clean it frequently with dental floss, which will generally improve after a period of time.

2. Generally speaking, the risk of maxillary wisdom teeth is lower than that of mandibular wisdom teeth. The risk of mandibular wisdom teeth is often concentrated on the mandibular nerve canal. I have encountered cases where the mandibular nerve canal was shaken during tooth extraction. Generally, there were no symptoms after the operation. Very few patients felt slight numbness on their faces, which usually healed within a few days. Other colleagues have exchanged cases of mandibular nerve canal injury before. This is a medical accident, so I won’t mention it here.

3. If the mandibular wisdom tooth is impacted under the gums, it may require cutting the gums. If the doctor makes an incision on the tongue side, it may cause a certain degree of damage to the lingual nerve. The sequelae are that the tongue may become numb and painful to external stimuli. This usually gets completely better or at least alleviated within a year. Some doctors may cause the tooth to slip during the extraction process, which will also irritate the lingual nerve. This is a common problem. Doctors need to pay attention and patients do not need to be overly nervous.

4. Other issues such as postoperative facial swelling and wound pain are now less and less common. First, I usually seal collagen first and then suture, and prescribe antibiotics after surgery, so there is almost no postoperative swelling and pain now. Second, I now remove wisdom teeth that are more difficult and take longer in the operating room, with higher sterility requirements, and very careful postoperative treatment. Dry socket has not appeared in recent years, so I haven't encountered severe pain for several days after tooth extraction for many years.

5. I can't think of so many other things at the moment, so I'll just write it here. In summary, wisdom teeth need careful inspection and preoperative planning, so that the risk can be minimized when they are removed. As for whether wisdom teeth need to be removed for patients, I can say responsibly that most wisdom teeth meet the indications for removal, and you need to weigh the pros and cons and decide whether to remove them.