Does it hurt or not to remove a wisdom tooth?

Removal of wisdom teeth or, as they are also called, “eights” is very common. When it comes to such interference, patients set a perfectly logical question about how painful is the procedure.

Everyone knows that the “eight” is a molar, and the roots are in the jaw. Many people are afraid of the procedure very much because of the expectation of pain.

In many cases, it’s better not to delay with the removal or you may have more serious problems than a regular operation in the dental practice. How painful it is, is there any pain and how is the procedure conducted?

How necessary is removal?

Some dentists take a very radical side, that it should be a must to remove the eighth teeth still in adolescence (not even grown), so they have no time fully to grow into the jaw and settle there.

However, there is nothing superfluous in our body. That is why there is no need to remove the normally developing, healthy and full-fledged tooth.

Here are some cases when it is possible (and even necessary) no to remove this dental unit:

• there is no interference with the normal eruption;
• “the eight” needs to be used as a basis for carrying out certain types of prosthesis, when it is not particularly biased;
• there is a possibility of high-quality medical treatments which guarantee a long life of wisdom tooth.

The presence of certain factors, which in most cases do not depend on the patient, lead to the inevitable removal of a wisdom tooth. Basically, this is a pathology growth, development. and location.

• Incorrect “laying” position; a lean backward or forward. With eruption from this position, the patient is experiencing a very unpleasant and often extremely painful feelings.
• If the tooth cannot cut through and is in contact with the adjacent teeth.
• The formation of a so-called “hood”.
• The occurrence of pericoronitis.
• The compression of the facial nerve (rare).

Procedure

Dentists differentiate between two types of such operations – simple and complex.

The simple case

Here is a sample of the entire process.

• Medical history – X-rays, with the exception of allergy to medications and the presence of other diseases that can somehow affect the course of the process.
• Anesthesia.
• The removal itself. In the simple case – the tooth has erupted, so there is no need for additional surgical incisions. If a slight inflammation has been found, it must be washed with antibacterial medications, laying in necessary anti-inflammatory drugs.

  Next, the doctor sews formed during the operation wound. Sometimes, there is no necessity for suturing.

The complex case

It is assumed in the case when the impacted “eight” should be removed.

The first and second stages are the same. They are required in any case. However, the picture is desirable to be digital. The doctor carefully thinks through the whole process, in order to avoid possible unpleasant consequences.

After anesthesia, which can take more time, the section of tissue located above a wisdom tooth will necessarily be carried out.

To get a complete overview of the tooth, the doctor pushes the edges of the wound and the removal begins. In some cases, special devices may be needed through which drilling of so-called windows in the bone tissue is carried out.

The last stage is the antiseptic and anti-inflammatory drugs treatment and the subsequent suturing of wound.

Importance of X-ray

When carrying out such an operation, no matter if the “eight” has erupted fully, partially or not at all, it is highly recommended to make an X-ray. It is necessary for a proper removing of a tooth, as it will help your doctor avoid mistakes and unpleasant consequences.

• Determining the exact location, especially if the tooth is impacted. The most effective in this case is to use a special equipment for reviewing digital images – cephalometric x-ray.
• Determining the exact number, location, and shape of the roots. Roots of “eights” are very often subjected to a distortion. It is possible even with the correct general location of the tooth. The tips may break off when bending and thus remain in the bone after removing, which is very dangerous.
• Knowing an accurate tooth and roots positioning will greatly facilitate the work, and will show a doctor how exactly he needs to act in each particular case.

If a wisdom tooth is situated on the lower jaw

The lower jaw has a much greater load. This is due to pressure from the upper jaw as well as from chewing. Because of this, they are initially subjected to any destructive processes. To avoid this, the entire lower row and “eights” in particular are growing more powerful and stronger.

The root system is not as simple as of the upper units – it is more extensive, intricate. Sometimes the roots may be bent or completely twisted.

Despite the huge number of new anesthetics, there are cases where this procedure is still painful. The more complex the structure of roots and the position of the wisdom teeth, the stronger may be sensations.

There are several factors that affect a significant increase in pain with this operation:

• if the patient is taking drugs, which are narcotic;
• in the case of the prior, long and continuous use of any painkillers, which must not be narcotic;
• if a complex and extremely extensive purulent process had developed before surgery.

If the “eight” is situated on the upper jaw

When compared with the lower jaw, the removal of the upper “eights” usually goes much easier and simpler. Naturally, the simpler is an operation, the less pain the patient experiences.

Removing the “eights” from the upper jaw is a less traumatic procedure and practically painless with standard anesthesia. There may be complications only in very rare cases that are exceptions.

This is directly related to the structure of the upper jaw and some features of “eights” themselves.

The bone tissue of which a jaw consists is more subjected. The doctor puts less effort to remove the unnecessary tooth. Its structure is also different from others. The roots are very often subjected to coalescing, they are almost never curved, and the tips are not bent.

There is a small peculiarity in how the doctor should make an effort when working with special pincers, which are called a straight elevator. An excessive force applied may lead to breaking of the tooth or root (roots), which greatly complicates the quite simple procedure.

What anesthesia to choose – types, peculiarities, and advantages

An injection itself can be a bit painful, but it is a very short-term pain and not too strong. Often the occurrence of such sensations is associated with pain threshold of each patient.

To reduce the pain, the physician must inject the drug slowly, not faster than 40 seconds.

Types of drugs

• Ultracaine. The most popular and most commonly used anesthetic. It belongs to series of Articain drugs. In some variations, a special ingredient – epinephrine may be added, which prolongs the main action. Incredibly effective. Manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis.

  There are three options – Forte DS, DS and D. They are characterized by the presence and concentration of epinephrine in their composition.

• Ubistezin, Septanest. These drugs are similar to Ultracaine because they belong to the same group. However, Septanest contains adrenaline and a lot of preservatives.
• Skadonest. Preparation is produced on the basis of another substance – Mepivacaine. It causes the smallest number of allergic reactions, so it is mostly used for patients who, for various reasons have fallen into the so-called risk group.
• Novocaine. A quite familiar old drug, but its action is less strong than that of its analog Ultracaine in about 5 times. Plus, the action is quite short – about one and a half hours.
• Lidocaine. It has an advantage over the usual Novocaine, however, it is weaker than Articaine drugs in about 1.5-2 times.

In some particularly difficult cases, when carrying out complicated operations on removing teeth the specialists may offer general anesthesia. It means that the for the duration of the work (and a little bit longer) the patient simply falls asleep and does not feel anything.

Feedbacks about the procedure

Considering the feedbacks from patients who have gone through this procedure, taking into account the large number of them in different clinics, it is possible to make such a rough picture:

• It is not possible to completely avoid the pain. This is due to the fact that even the injection can be painful if you hurry.
• Severe pain during surgery can occur only if the patient does not respond properly to the injected anesthetic.
• Pain in all the cases occurs after complete removal. This happens because the body has time to fully neutralize the anesthetic. The pain can be strong the first few hours after the removal if the doctor’s actions were hampered by the incorrect location of the “eight”, broken roots, cut gums, drilling the “window”, or other factors.
• The longer the anesthetic drug acts, the less pain there will be after its expiration.

We offer you, dear readers, who have gone through a wisdom tooth removal procedure, leave your comments, using the special form below.