Wisdom Teeth Symptoms

16. January, 2012 by Dr Rippin Blog

Understanding the wisdom teeth symptoms is one of the best ways of dealing with the third molars, as wisdom teeth are usually. People generally develop them in the late teen years or in the mid twenties. Adults may have 3 to 4 wisdom teeth, though the number may vary from one individual to another. This means that your wisdom teeth symptoms may be different from the ones experienced by other people.

Wisdom teeth can erupt partially or may not even appear at all due to the scarcity of space. In some cases, they partially erupt in such a way that you would find it difficult in brushing them. The teeth create the flap of gum tissue which easily holds debris and food particles, making harmful bacteria to make the newly created hot bed a place of abode, invading the wisdom teeth and the surrounding area. This can lead to many dental problems and oral health problems. Therefore, the leftover food particles will be responsible for wisdom teeth infection, tooth decay and gum infection.

Different Wisdom Teeth Symptoms

Difficulty in opening the mouth
Swollen gums
Difficulty in chewing and swallowing, caused by the grating of the impacted wisdom teeth against the cheek.
Discharge of pus from the gum when it is infected.
Development of a tumor or cyst or in the area affected, though not very common.
Bad smell or taste in the mouth, leading to bad breath.
Swollen lymph nodes under the jaw, leading to pain in the throat
Mild to severe toothache
Swollen cheek (cheek on the affected side of the face)
Inflamed and reddened leading to pain in the area affected
Ulcers on the cheek
Muscle spasms in the jaw, though rare, may lead to excruciating pain.
Mild to high fever, in most cases, due to pericoronitis, with an increase in body temperature and fatigue also being noted.
Irritation due to the insufficiency of space in the mouth.
Headache may be experienced in addition to constant jaw pain
Difficulty in brushing
Nausea and sour throat caused by the spread of pericoronitis into the deeper tissues of the jaw and face
Facial swelling can also be caused through worsened pericoronitis. There may also be swelling around the throat and the ear.

How to Treat Wisdom Teeth Symptoms

You should always eat soft foods after wisdom teeth removal. This will help in aggravating the symptoms and preventing wisdom teeth infection after extraction. After some days, you may gradually start eating solid food.
Antibiotics may be prescribed to help reduce the pain and control the symptoms. However, if you have the teeth in the same position, you may continue to experience the infection. This is what makes extraction to be the best solution.
The wisdom teeth symptoms can also be treated by dipping a cotton swab in clove oil, then pressing it against the infected teeth.
Rinsing your mouth with warm saltwater solution. This will help to reduce the pain and get rid of harmful bacteria. The solution can also help to eliminate bad breath. In addition, swishing with warm saltwater will help to sooth the gums.
The wisdom teeth symptoms can also be treated by cleaning. This is a good way of removing the pus, thus reducing pain and further decay.
Applying camphor oil to reduce the pain
The best way of treating wisdom teeth symptoms is through extraction. This is the most expensive form of treatment, but the most effective, as it deals with the cause of the problem.

In treating wisdom teeth symptoms, make sure you follow the directions of the doctor. After extraction, you should restrict yourself to cold or room-temperature foods and liquid diet for 3 to 4 days. This is a good way of healing the wound and decreasing your wisdom teeth recovery time. You should also not touch the location with your tongue, as this may lead to infection, which spreads with time, leading to bleeding.

There are people who do not experience wisdom teeth symptoms even when there is a need to remove them. They may be having minor symptoms without knowing that an infection is taking place. The best way of not having a nightmare is to see the doctor immediately you start experiencing those wisdom teeth symptoms. The positioning of the teeth should be discussed with the doctor. This will help in determining the need for removal.