What To Do About Wisdom Tooth Pain?

Wisdom tooth pain affects many people and it can range from quite mild to severe symptoms. Pain can be felt at the back of the mouth where the teeth erupt but it may also make the surrounding teeth painful too.

What Causes The Pain

Your wisdom teeth will erupt during your late teens and early twenties so there may be growing pains as they come in. This should fully subside once they have fully formed. However, if there is not enough space for the tooth to emerge, your wisdom tooth may become impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth can result in:

• Tooth Decay: As it is more difficult to clean, they are more vulnerable to tooth decay.
• Infection: If you have an impacted wisdom tooth you may develop an abscess more easily which can lead to an infection in your mouth.
• Gum Disease: Similarly to tooth decay, it is more difficult to clean your wisdom teeth when the become impacted to the likelihood of developing gum disease increases.

An impacted wisdom tooth may partially emerge so that some of the crown is visible, or it may never break through the gums. The tooth may:

• Grow at an angle towards the next tooth.
• Grow at an angle towards the back of the mouth.
• Grow at a right angle to the other teeth.
• Grow straight up or down but stay trapped in the jawbone.

Symptoms

Impacted teeth don’t always develop symptoms but if it becomes infected or damages other teeth, there are some symptoms you might notice:

• Red or swollen gums
• Tender or bleeding gums
• Jaw pain
• Swelling around the jaw
• Bad breath
• An unpleasant taste in your mouth
• Difficulty opening your mouth

How To Ease The Pain

• Saltwater rinse: Rinsing your gums with warm water and salt helps promote healthy gums and kit harmful bacteria.
• Painkillers: ibuprofen is an over the counter medication with anti-inflammatory properties.
• Visit your dentist: If you are concerned with the pain and think that your tooth might be impacted, call your dentist as it may need to be extracted.