The day I realized that I had a new tooth erupting I began to glow. I began to feel wiser. I knew it was my wisdom tooth. Finally, after all these years, I was going to have a wisdom tooth. I was 24 then and I should have read a little more that time. Little did I know that in a few days time I would be howling with pain. I began to brush upon my knowledge of the so-called ‘Wisdom tooth’ and realized that no good has come out of anyone who had this tooth. Why then was it named so I wondered?

What is a wisdom tooth?

A tooth that is one of the rear most molars in a human being is known as a wisdom tooth. It normally erupts after the age of 16 and tends to cause a lot of trouble if they are in an abnormal position. I f they erupt only partially then they tend to cause bacterial infection.

In most cases you will feel pain on the onset of the tooth erupting. Consult your dentist immediately. In most cases surgeons suggest extraction of the tooth even before they erupt in order to save the patient of going through a painful process later.

The wisdom tooth may cause gum diseases, decay, overcrowding of teeth or even a cyst. Of the tooth erupts only half way then your gums may tend to grow over the tooth.

How will you know if your wisdom tooth needs to be extracted?

In my opinion, if you’ve lived all these years not needing any more teeth then you definitely don’t need this one. However, your safest bet would be to visit the doctor and get a professional opinion. Some of the symptoms you may go through are pain in the jaw or a stiff jaw, swollen or bleeding gums or tooth decay in the surrounding areas.

Home remedies for your wisdom tooth:

Some of the things you can to in the interim of your first visit to your dentist and the appointment for the extraction you can try a few home remedies to reduce the pain. Try rinsing your mouth with warm water and salt. Place an ice pack on your cheek but never put pieces of aspirin directly in your gums or in the affected tooth area.

What do you do after the extraction?

Like always you must maintain good oral hygiene. Brush your teeth twice daily and floss regularly.