Are wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks dangerous?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is written by Master, Doctor Lai Do Quyen - Doctor of Odonto-Stomatology - Facial - Interdisciplinary Department - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital

Wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks is one of the cases where wisdom teeth grow out of place. When wisdom teeth grow out of place, it often causes discomfort, and can even adversely affect oral health. In this article, you will learn why wisdom teeth are often misaligned, are wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks dangerous, how to recognize and how to handle wisdom teeth that are misaligned.

1. What are wisdom teeth?

Wisdom teeth, also known as teeth number 8, are the third molars, located at the back of each tooth. There are a total of 4 wisdom teeth, 2 teeth in the upper jaw and 2 teeth in the lower jaw. They are the last teeth to erupt in the jaw.
Wisdom teeth usually begin to erupt at the age of 18 - 26 years old, when the jawbone has fully developed. The characteristic of the number 8 teeth is that they do not grow continuously like other teeth but grow intermittently. Therefore, the process of teething number 8 is usually very slow and lasts for a very long time.

2. Why are wisdom teeth often misaligned?

The cause of wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks is the same as other types of wisdom teeth. During the fetal period, the permanent tooth germ is formed very early and through several stages. Wisdom teeth are formed later than other teeth and are caused by a posterior extension of the tooth nucleation band called the lamina. When the child is born and grows up, the process of developing wisdom tooth germ continues, along with the posterior growth of the jawbone, the wisdom tooth germ is pulled back, leading to the wisdom tooth germ being deviated. At this time, the teeth often do not stand neatly on the jaw, leading to the situation of wisdom teeth erupting. Often wisdom teeth often grow out of the front and out or on the cheeks.
On the other hand, wisdom teeth begin to grow in adulthood, coming in later than other teeth. At this time, the jawbone has fully developed, the bones are quite strong and the teeth are stable on the jaw arch. When they grow up, the obstacle is strong jawbone and "occupying" by other teeth, so wisdom teeth change direction, leading to misaligned teeth.

3. Are wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks dangerous?

Wisdom teeth growing out of place and wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks are quite common. When wisdom teeth grow out of the cheeks, it often causes phenomena such as:
Toothache: aching pain like a tooth is pushed, an uncomfortable feeling in the cheek where the tooth comes in. Pain is often felt when teeth erupt. When the teeth stop growing, the pain or pushing teeth will disappear. This feeling may be fleeting and you may not notice it or it can really upset you. The feeling of pain will increase a lot if there are complications due to wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks such as infections, tooth decay ... The gums of the wisdom teeth are swollen. Maybe the gums around the wisdom teeth are just red, slightly swollen, you just need to rinse your mouth with salt water, the swollen gums will go away. The gums may swell, turn red, and sometimes have pus draining from the swollen gums. The gingiva is the part of the gum that covers the top surface of the wisdom tooth (the chewing surface) that does not completely disappear because the teething process is too long or because the teeth are stuck and cannot grow. Because the gums do not hug tightly to the tooth surface, food is easy to get stuck in the gap between the underside of the gums and the chewing surface of the teeth, causing a bad smell in the mouth and infection of the gums. Wisdom tooth decay: because wisdom teeth do not grow in the right position, food can easily get stuck between the teeth and on the tooth surface, causing tooth decay. Combined with gum covering on the tooth surface will make wisdom teeth more prone to decay. Tooth decay can be insidious, making you painless, only when the big hole in the pulp causes you pain, then you really notice. At that time, the large cavity causes the loss of many tooth structures, making the extraction of teeth that are displaced to the cheek will be more complicated.

Wisdom teeth that grow out of the cheeks will rub against the cheeks, causing discomfort when speaking, chewing, causing bleeding and ulcers in the cheek mucosa, hindering the chewing function. Swollen cheeks, causing pain and loss of aesthetics. Sometimes the sores become infected and take a long time to heal and spread, making treatment difficult. Full jaw displacement: when wisdom teeth erupt, due to lack of space, they press on the adjacent teeth in front of them, creating great pressure to push this tooth, other teeth on the jaw are also affected. misaligned teeth. Because the anterior incisors are smaller and have a single root, they are more easily moved, making the front teeth more common. Damage to the adjacent front teeth (teeth 7): Interstitial food and poor oral hygiene due to the misaligned teeth position are the main causes of tooth decay 7. Cavities are often located at a very low position. difficult to observe, only when you have a toothache, go to the dentist and have a film taken, will you find out that there is tooth decay No. 7. At that time, the treatment of tooth 7 is often complicated, sometimes it is impossible to keep the tooth. More serious is from a local infection in the gums around the wisdom tooth that has grown to the cheek or from the sores on the cheek, if not treated in time, the infection will spread to the surrounding areas, causing even danger. is life threatening.

4. How to recognize wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks

When wisdom teeth begin to grow, you will see:
Signs of being pinched: feeling of teeth being pushed, pain and tenderness of teeth, incisors are gradually displaced,... Signs of local infection : the gums in the area above the wisdom teeth are painful or swollen, red, pus, and have a bad smell from food. The cheeks of the wisdom teeth are swollen, painful, and there are tears and scratches due to the bite of the teeth in the upper jaw. Sometimes you can't open your mouth wide because of the pain. Signs of widespread infection: bleeding, swelling, swollen face, pain, bad breath, pus draining from swollen gums, fever, swollen lymph nodes under the jaw... Teeth or part of a tooth emerge on the gums and off the cheeks. Caries of wisdom tooth or tooth number 7, due to tooth decay.

5. How to handle wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks?

Wisdom teeth grow out of place and wisdom teeth grow out of the cheeks causing many dangerous complications. Therefore, wisdom teeth extraction is necessary and this is a quick and definitive treatment, avoiding all risks of harm and unwanted complications caused by wisdom teeth.
However, before deciding to remove wisdom teeth, your dentist will have to consider and discuss with you whether it is safe for you to remove wisdom teeth that have grown out of your cheeks as well as choose the most appropriate time to have them extracted. wisdom grows out of cheeks for you.
Wisdom teeth erupting and wisdom teeth growing out of the cheeks are quite common wisdom teeth eruption today. When wisdom teeth erupt, they often cause you certain discomfort and can appear dangerous and unpredictable complications. Therefore, when you see that wisdom teeth are misaligned and wisdom teeth are displaced to the cheeks, you should visit your dentist for appropriate indications to avoid dangerous complications.
Surgery to remove wisdom teeth that have grown out of the cheeks is a routine technique at Vinmec International General Hospital. The advantage of wisdom tooth extraction technique at Vinmec is to avoid complications such as: pain, adjacent tooth decay, inflammation, trauma to tooth number 7....
To ensure the best quality for customers, The Dentistry - Jaw - Facial specialist at the hospital is equipped with KAVO dental chair system (Germany), camera in dental chair, panorama machine from Gendex, X-ray machine of in situ, Phosphorus film scanner from Gendex, machine Dently ultrasound, Radii Plus Australia teeth whitening forging, endodontic machine, root canal length meter.... provide maximum support in the examination and implementation of all maxillofacial techniques.
Besides, all procedures are performed by a team of doctors and dentists with many years of experience. Therefore, customers can be assured of the quality and service at Vinmec.

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