At Livonia Family Dental, we understand that the status of your wisdom teeth may be one of your biggest concerns. Parents of adolescents are often concerned when their children have wisdom tooth pain. As a parent, you want to make sure your child doesn’t experience dental discomfort. This quick guide will help you, as a concerned parent, understand what to do about your child’s wisdom teeth.
Wisdom teeth are often called your third set of molars. When you schedule your routine cleaning with Livonia Family Dental, our dental hygienist and technicians will pay special attention to your child’s wisdom teeth as a part of the exam. If we can access them, they will get a thorough cleaning. If we cannot access them, we will view them on a dental x-ray.
Your child may not have any wisdom teeth, and that will be great news for parents. Most people do have wisdom teeth, however, and your child may have a set that are poorly positioned, are impacted, or are under the gums. If your child has impacted wisdom teeth, they may impact the jawbone and surrounding soft tissue, causing pain and discomfort. If your child has partially erupted wisdom teeth, s/he will have a higher risk of gum disease and tooth decay, causing distress for both you and your adolescent. If the wisdom teeth are sitting inactive under the gums, your child’s other teeth may be pushed and misaligned.
When your family visits Livonia Family Dental, our dentist will assess the wisdom teeth. We often recommend that they be removed to relieve discomfort or to prevent future dental problems. We are happy to refer you to a local specialist who will perform the extraction. This can be a tough surgery for young people; typically, there is swelling, bleeding, and tenderness both in the mouth and on your child’s face. These effects will subside over days and weeks after the wisdom teeth extraction.
At Livonia Family Dental, we want you and your family to have the best dental experience possible. Call us for an assessment of your child’s wisdom teeth as part of a regular dental check-up.
