An extraction is a procedure consisting of the removal of a tooth, whilst the patient is anesthetised by local anaesthetic.
Often teeth which require extraction are severely damaged by tooth decay or fractures and cannot be saved by other dental treatments such as endodontics (root canal treatment).
Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth normally erupt between the ages of 18 to 24 years of age. It is common for wisdom teeth to be impacted (below), meaning there is no space for them to erupt and it is not common for wisdom teeth to erupt into the right position even if space is available.
The reasons for not having this space are:
• Our soft diets do not cause wear on our other teeth
• It is vital to save our other teeth as they have normally erupted into the correct position. So few other teeth are being extracted
• The lower jaw has not grown enough to accommodate the wisdom teeth.
Modern techniques are far less painful, an extraction can be a very simple procedure. Some complex cases may require a specialist to be involved.
Impacted Wisdom Tooth Xray
