Wisdom teeth usually appear in your late teens or early 20s when there is no longer enough space in the jaw bones for them. This results in an impacted wisdom tooth that can potentially cause problems such as a painful gum inflammation and infection, tooth decay and cyst formation. These are few of the reasons why impacted wisdom teeth need to be removed.
Since most wisdom teeth are impacted and buried in the gums, a small incision has to be made. Some bone surrounding the wisdom teeth is usually removed for better access to the tooth. The wisdom tooth is then typically divided into a few pieces and removed completely. The gums are then stitched back into the original position.
Many people think that wisdom tooth surgery is painful but that is not the case. Pain is usually well-controlled with the anaesthetic. In NDCS, we have a team of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons who perform the surgery with care.
After your wisdom tooth surgery, you can experience some discomfort and swelling for 3 to 5 days. During this period, patients should take soft diet such as porridge, fish and beancurd. Medication will be given to minimise swelling, pain and discomfort. You should also maintain good oral hygiene, avoid strenuous exercise and smoking.
Surgery Outcomes
Wisdom tooth surgery is a commonly done procedure in NDCS. We pride ourselves with a high quality of clinical care and expertise to ensure that discomfort, inconveniences and complications are minimized as much as possible. To quantify and monitor these outcomes, we track the number of unscheduled visits following wisdom tooth surgeries and year-on-year percentage of unscheduled return is well below reported international data[1].
[1] Australasian Clinical Indicator Report: Surgical extraction – complications within 14 days, 20145 – 2022, 24th Edition*
*Please visit our Appointments page for information on how to make an appointment at NDCS for Wisdom Tooth surgery.
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