• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

The remaining teeth naturally tend to tip toward the spaces left by missing teeth. To do so, they may emerge too much from the gum or grow at an angle, causing the teeth to be poorly aligned (see page 1106), which prevents the teeth from coming together properly when you bite or chew. A faulty bite places extra stress on your teeth and jaw; this stress can lead to temporomandibular disorder (see page 1005), a condition that causes discomfort and pain in the joints of the jaw. Misalignment can also wear down some teeth.

If teeth grow into gaps at an angle, the surfaces of the teeth may be difficult to clean. Plaque can build up in hard-to-reach places and lead to tooth decay and periodontal disease (see page 1114).

Treatment

If you think that your child is missing a primary tooth or a permanent tooth, take him or her to the dentist for an examination. You should also see your dentist if you have any missing teeth since childhood or are experiencing any problems caused by missing teeth.

A dentist may recommend treating a missing tooth with a bridge (see page 1110), a removable partial denture (see previous page), or a dental implant (see previous page). Your dentist may also refer you to an orthodontist, a dentist who specializes in treating irregularly positioned teeth. To treat any pain in the jaw caused by poorly aligned teeth, your dentist may fit a nightguard (see previous page) over your upper or lower teeth and gums or may grind down the high spots in your teeth to correct your bite.

Problems Caused by Wisdom Teeth

The last teeth at the back of your mouth are the third molars, or wisdom teeth. The four wisdom teeth usually appear between ages 17 and 21, but some people don’t develop all four wisdom teeth. If one of your wisdom teeth fails to emerge, you probably will not have any symptoms. Missing wisdom teeth are not a cause for concern unless they have failed to emerge because they are impacted (blocked under the gum, usually because of overcrowding).

Wisdom teeth are difficult to clean and, therefore, decay more easily than other teeth. For example, if a wisdom tooth emerges at an angle, the space between the wisdom tooth and the next tooth can trap plaque and food particles, causing tooth decay or periodontal disease (see page 1114). Often a wisdom tooth fails to emerge properly because it becomes impacted, sometimes by the adjacent tooth. In this case, a pocket can form around the impacted tooth and collect plaque and food particles. Bacteria in the pocket may cause bad breath and an unpleasant taste in your mouth and can eventually cause an infection (called pericoronitis) around the impacted tooth.

Symptoms of pericoronitis include pain when you bite down on the tooth or the gum partially covering the tooth, and redness and swelling of the gum around the tooth. If you have any of these symptoms, see your dentist or doctor as soon as possible.

Impacted wisdom tooth

This impacted wisdom tooth is blocked as it grows at an angle against the adjacent tooth. Wisdom teeth are usually removed to prevent tooth decay or periodontal disease.

Treatment

The long-term solution for an impacted wisdom tooth is to remove it, which is the only way to treat a recurring infection or prevent future infection. If you have an infected impacted tooth, using a topical over-the-counter anesthetic, taking aspirin, and rinsing the area around the tooth with warm salted water can relieve pain until you can see your dentist.

Your dentist will take X-rays to determine the position of the tooth. If there is no sign of infection and the tooth can be easily removed, your dentist will extract it after injecting a local anesthetic. If the area around the tooth is infected, he or she will prescribe an antibiotic to eliminate the infection before removing the tooth

If the tooth lies at an angle that would make it difficult to extract (or if you have other impacted wisdom teeth that need to be removed), your dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon who can more easily