Your wisdom teeth are your final set of molars, which typically appear in the back of your mouth sometime between your late teens and mid-twenties. In many cases, your mouth will not have sufficient room to provide for the arrival of these teeth. If this is true, you may require surgery to remove your wisdom teeth and restore normal mouth function. Wisdom tooth surgery can cause residual pain, in addition to several other potential complications.
Identification
When your wisdom teeth do not have room to emerge normally, they jam against bone, your gums or adjacent teeth, according to the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS). This condition is called a tooth impaction. Impacted teeth may trigger significant pain or infection, in addition to damaging nearby normal teeth and causing the formation of pus-filled cysts. Surgery is performed to prevent these problems or correct them once they occur.
Surgery
During wisdom tooth surgery, your doctor will remove any gum tissue or bone that blocks your wisdom teeth, according to the Mayo Clinic. Once this is done, he will cut away the connective tissue between your tooth and bone, remove your wisdom tooth and close the resulting wound. As a last step, he will pack the remaining tooth socket with gauze. In some cases, surgery is a relatively straightforward process, the AAOMS notes. However, the position of your tooth or tooth roots may call for the use of more complicated surgical procedures.
Normal Healing
In many cases, you will experience nothing more than mild pain and swelling in the aftermath of wisdom tooth surgery, the AAOMS reports. Typically, you can treat this level of discomfort with cold compresses and pain medications. You may also gain further relief from temporary alterations to your diet that emphasize soft or non-irritating foods.
Complications
In some cases, you may develop painful or dangerous complications from wisdom tooth surgery, the Mayo Clinic reports. Potential problems include an infection caused by trapped food particles or bacteria at the site of surgery; weakening of your jawbone; and damage to nerves that supply your tongue, chin or lower lip.
Warning
You may also develop a painful condition called dry socket, which occurs when the loss of the post-surgical blood clot in a wisdom tooth socket exposes underlying bare bone, the Mayo Clinic explains. Depending on individual circumstances, the pain from a dry socket may be severe or radiate from your teeth to the nearest ear or eye. Certain behaviors can increase your chances of developing a dry socket, including smoking or using other forms of tobacco; failing to follow your doctor's instructions for post-surgical wound care; or using oral contraceptives. The Mayo Clinic lists potential treatments for the condition that include use of pain medications or medicated dressings, in addition to flushing debris from the affected socket with water, salt water or a prescription mouthwash.
