Infected Wisdom Teeth: A Dental Emergency

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Denver / Centennial Dental Office – Please call (303) 309-0749, near I-25 and Dry Creek, in Centennial (close to the intersection of Dry Creek and Yosemite, just south of Park Meadows Mall)!

Infected wisdom teeth are one of the most common dental emergencies. Thanks to evolution and our softer diets, people’s mouths are smaller today. As a result, few people have enough room in their mouths to accommodate the third molars, at the back of the mouth, which are commonly known as wisdom teeth.

Wisdom teeth are the last adult teeth to emerge, usually appearing when people are in their late teens or their early twenties.

For the majority of people, wisdom teeth will not come in normally. Instead, the wisdom teeth might erupt through the gums at an odd angle, only partially emerge, or remain impacted.

When a wisdom tooth breaks through the gum, without adequate room, it often creates a slit, or flap of tissue. When food gets trapped in the flap, this often leads to an infection.

Signs and symptoms of infection from wisdom teeth can include the following:
• pain in the tissue and area around the wisdom tooth (pain is a warning sign)
• a foul smell or taste in your mouth
• swollen lymph nodes
• ear infection
• sinus infection
• fever or chills

For a wisdom tooth dental emergency, we will generally prescribe antibiotics, to clear up the infection. And then, in most cases, we will extract the tooth (as well as your other wisdom teeth).

For wisdom teeth extractions, we offer 3 forms of sedation: nitrous oxide, oral sedation (conscious sedation), and IV sedation.

Dental insurance will sometimes cover sedation for your wisdom teeth surgery.

The best case scenario would be that you avoid getting an infection from a wisdom tooth, by having your wisdom teeth extracted before they try to emerge.

During your consultation, we can examine at your wisdom teeth, assess how and when they may try to grow in, and make recommendations for what you should do.

Sedation Dentist Near Me
Our sedation dental office is near you if you live or work in: Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, southeast Aurora, Parker, Denver Tech Center, Meridian, Inverness or Park Meadows.