IMPACTION OF TEETH
Teeth that have completed their eruption age but cannot take their place in the mouth and remain completely or partially in the bone and soft tissues are defined as impacted teeth.
Throughout the physical development of humans from ancient times to the present day, various stages have been undergone. The development, eruption, macroscopic structure, and number of teeth have been reported by many scientists studying human evolution parallel to the changes seen in the jawbone structure with the development of the skull and body skeleton. As the jaw structure, which used to be wider and larger, started to shrink with the transition to soft foods, the teeth also began to remain impacted and unable to erupt.
The most commonly impacted teeth are the upper and lower wisdom teeth, followed by the upper canines. The probability of other teeth remaining impacted is much lower.
Wisdom teeth can be fully or partially impacted. The complications caused by impacted teeth vary depending on the degree of impaction.
We can generally list the complications caused by impacted teeth as follows:
1- Pericoronitis, which is the infection of the gum tissue around it. Depending on the severity of the infection, complaints such as pain, swelling, and limited opening of the mouth may occur.
2- They can cause gum disease. Especially lower impacted wisdom teeth weaken the bone support behind the second molar tooth and gum problems begin in this area, which is already difficult to clean.
3- Impacted teeth that are positioned based on the teeth in front of them can cause these teeth to decay.
4- They can cause the formation of cysts or tumors.
5- They can obstruct the use of dentures.
6- They can cause unexplained pain.
7- They can hinder the success of orthodontic treatment.
Impacted teeth can be surgically removed to avoid these reasons. The important thing is to decide when to perform the surgical intervention. The decision of whether the impacted tooth should be extracted or when it should be extracted should be made by listening to the complaints of the patient in consultation with the surgeon. If the tooth has caused any infection, pain, or is causing any discomfort in any way, it must be removed. Sometimes, impacted teeth that do not cause any discomfort may also need to be removed. The extraction of this tooth can be decided based on how it is impacted in the bone and whether it damages the surrounding tissues (bone, adjacent teeth, soft tissue, and nerve structures). In some cases, the physician may recommend long-term follow-up instead of extraction. This depends entirely on the condition of the impacted tooth and may vary in every patient, even in the same patient’s every impacted tooth. This evaluation should be made by a maxillofacial surgery specialist.
The extraction of impacted teeth can be easily performed under local anesthesia. One or more impacted teeth can be extracted according to the patient’s preference. Sedation and general anesthesia procedures can also be performed on patients who are very afraid.
After anesthesia, the impacted tooth is extracted in approximately 15-20 minutes…
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