Impacted Wisdom Teeth Spring TX

What is an impacted tooth?

Although most people develop and grow 32 permanent adult teeth, many times their jaws are too small to accommodate the four wisdom teeth. When inadequate space prevents the teeth from erupting they are called impacted. This indicates their inability to erupt into the proper position for chewing and cleaning.

Types of impacted teeth

Dr. Sitters will perform a comprehensive examination (consultation) to determine if you will benefit from wisdom tooth removal. An essential x-ray (Panoramic – on the left image above) will be necessary to determine if your wisdom teeth are impacted. The panoramic X-ray provides a full view of the upper and lower jaws, teeth, temporomandibular joints (TMJs), and sinuses. Without this critical piece of data, we could miss pathologic lesions, such as tumors or cysts, extra teeth, and a whole host of other conditions that need surgical treatment. Just having your typical “PA” x-rays that a general dentist obtains is insufficient for our purposes. Bitewings/PA is a much smaller X-ray designed to only look at teeth and not the entire face.

• Soft Tissue Impaction: There is not enough room to allow the gum tissue to retract for adequate cleaning of the tooth.
• Partial Bony Impaction: There is enough space to allow the wisdom tooth to partially erupt. However, the tooth cannot function properly in the chewing process and creates cleaning problems, among others.
• Complete Bony Impaction: There is NO space for the tooth to erupt. It remains embedded in the jaw bone or if even partially visible requires complex surgical techniques for removal. The impacted wisdom tooth may also be in an unusual position and difficult to remove. This situation can also arise when the shape or size of the jaw bone and other facial structures make the removal of this tooth significantly more complex.

Soft Tissue

Partial Bony

Complete Bony