Even though the jawbone grows close to its adult size by your late teens, that size is often too small to hold developing wisdom teeth. When there is not enough room for your wisdom teeth they may become partially trapped in the jawbone and gums.

The crown, or top of the tooth, may erupt, or just break through the gum. Since the tooth can't completely emerge, the area around the eruption can easily be infected. Compounding this problem is that wisdom teeth are very difficult to brush or floss, even if they do make it above the gumline.

When a wisdom tooth has no room to erupt it becomes impacted. An impacted tooth is usually contained completely within the bone and can lie in many different orientations. Serious complications can result from an impacted tooth. The sac that surrounds the impacted tooth can become filled with fluid, enlarging to a cyst and causing permanent bone damage. Left untreated, a tumor may develop which requires a more complex procedure to remove the tooth.

Treatment
Surgery may often be done in your dentist's or oral surgeon's office rather than in a surgical center or hospital depending on your particular condition. Your dentist or oral surgeon will review the recommended procedure with you so that you will fully understand and are comfortable before it is done.


After the tooth is removed, an empty socket is left where the tooth once was. Your body heals this socket by sending blood to nourish it. Pressure from a piece of gauze is usually all that is needed to control this natural bleeding. Within a short time, the blood form a clot in the socket. Eventually the bone surrounding the socket grows to fill the empty space completely.