Frequently Asked Questions of Oral Surgery

It is common to see swelling, infection, pain of the impacted teeth and the gums. Damage commonly extends to the adjacent healthy teeth and the surrounding jawbones. Impacted teeth also develop into cysts, abscess, and tumors that may destroy a great area of one's jawbones.

Impacted wisdom teeth can be predictably removed with no discomfort. Our concern is that, on a regular basis, we do see the condition of the good tooth in front of an impacted wisdom tooth deteriorate due to the position of the wisdom tooth. If the wisdom tooth is deeply embedded, it may be possible to leave it and review with radiographs regularly. Occasionally, an asymptomatic deeply embedded wisdom tooth may turn into a cyst. That will require a bigger surgery to remove the tooth.

It is very common to see an impacted wisdom tooth with no significant symptoms. It is impossible to predict when an impacted tooth may flare up and cause trouble. It is likely that it will cause trouble some point in its life.

When it becomes symptomatic, the treatment will be more complicated. There are times that your medical condition may complicate treatment too. For example, a normal course of pregnancy will make caring for an infected wisdom tooth more problematic.

No.

Experts recommended wisdom teeth to be removed during teenage years or in the early 20s. People in this age group recover faster. Practically speaking, younger individuals can schedule their time easier than a working adult with a family, as less interruption is needed for younger individuals. You will never miss those problematic wisdom teeth!

Modern human beings retain most of our teeth. As a result, wisdom teeth are usually non-functional. You will not suffering from lack of chewing ability because of wisdom teeth removal.

No. You will be back to normal life the same day! In rare circumstances, minor swelling may occur but you will be able to live a regular life with few restrictions in general. Taking the medication we prescribe is one of the keys to speedy recovery.

It is a safe procedure. Due to the location of the wisdom teeth, a rare complication is numbness of the tongue, lip or chin. This happens very rarely and when it does it is usually temporary. As doctors, we always do our best to perform procedures in a safe manner. Your welfare is our priority.

Right after the procedure, you are supposed to bite onto the gauze over the surgical site for one hour. Even though the bleeding has stopped when you are discharged, it is normal to taste blood.

Do not spit out, rinse your mouth or brush your teeth for 24 hours. Swallow your saliva instead. Rinsing your mouth and spitting out may dislodge the blood clot and bleeding may start again.

The surgical site usually stays numb for approximately two hours. Food and hot drinks should not be consumed until the sensation has recovered. After that, eat over the normal, un-treated area. It is crucial to take all the medication as prescribed and keep your follow-up appointment to ensure uneventful healing.

You may contact our office during office hours or contact our emergency number after office hours. If you have left Singapore, please contact your local A&E department.

The first step is to visit a dentist for a dental X-ray and thorough examination. Your oral surgeon will then be able to advise whether the wisdom teeth need to be removed. The risks and benefits of wisdom teeth removal will be explained and discussed. Current scientific research tells us that there is no correlation between wisdom teeth and crowding of the teeth in front of them. There is a natural tendency for teeth to crowd towards the front with time. It happens with age, as a result of jaw growth rotations and soft tissue pressures, as well as forward-directed chewing forces, and not because of the presence of wisdom teeth.

There are other food reasons for removing wisdom teeth. Impacted wisdom teeth can become food traps and result in bone and gum impactions and dental decay. These can also affect the good molar neighboring the wisdom teeth. Some wisdom teeth are also non-functional, i. e. they do not bite properly. Thus, removing them will not affect your chewing abilities at all.

It is generally recommended that you remove wisdom teeth when they are impacted or are difficult to clean and maintain, before problems set in. Occasionally, impacted and expensive to treat. We have also seen situations where the molars in front of the wisdom teeth are affected and require treatment.

If you have decided on removal, this procedure is usually preformed under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. Sedation will help alleviate any anxiety, and will ensure a pleasant and smooth procedure with minimal post-operative discomfort and downtime. The good news is that, once the procedure is done, the problem will be gone forever and you won’t need to worry about it again.