Wisdom teeth are your last teeth to erupt, usually when you’re a teenager or young adult. While some people don’t notice they have wisdom teeth, others experience intense discomfort and swelling.
Wisdom teeth can cause discomfort by putting pressure on your adjacent teeth, causing misalignment. They may not emerge from your gum at the correct angle and become impacted. Impacted teeth are prone to decay, which can weaken the tooth’s structure, leaving your wisdom tooth vulnerable to breakage.
Your broken wisdom tooth can become infected and cause you additional pain. It’s important to seek immediate treatment for your broken wisdom teeth.
What is a Wisdom Tooth?
Also referred to as a third molar, a wisdom tooth is the last tooth to erupt from your gums at the back of your dental arch. Wisdom teeth are a vestigial body part leftover from early humans who had a primarily plant-based diet and required extra teeth to replace those lost to wear and tear from fibrous plant material.
In modern times wisdom teeth don’t serve a purpose, and as humans’ jaws have evolved to become smaller, wisdom teeth can cause pain because there isn’t enough room in your jaw when they erupt.
Your dentist can identify a wisdom tooth before it comes up by performing routine X-rays during checkup appointments. Often the best option is having your wisdom teeth removed. If you don’t remove it, your wisdom tooth may emerge crooked or sideways in your mouth.
Why Do Wisdom Teeth Break?
A wisdom tooth can erupt in your mouth at an angle or only partially emerge. This makes your wisdom tooth harder to clean and at a higher risk of decay or infection like pericoronitis.
Severe cavities can penetrate the enamel and dentin, destroying the tooth from within, making it weaker and easier to break.
Your wisdom tooth is also more vulnerable to injury from chewing as the molars sustain the most intense bite force in the jaw. Consuming hard foods like nuts, hard lollies, ice, and even raw vegetables can strain a weakened wisdom tooth.
A broken wisdom tooth can cause health issues and oral infections. Bacteria can infect the broken tooth, dental pulp, and gum and need immediate treatment.
How to Treat a Broken Wisdom Tooth?
To avoid getting an infection in your broken tooth, you should have your wisdom tooth removed as soon as possible. You will be able to have all your wisdom teeth removed in one appointment with your dentist. Your dentist will decide if you need a simple or complex extraction to remove your wisdom teeth.
In a simple extraction of your broken tooth, your dentist will numb the area with a local anaesthetic. Once your mouth is numb, they will loosen your tooth using a rocking motion and remove it using forceps.
If your wisdom teeth are impacted, you will need a complex extraction. A complex extraction involves going under general anaesthesia or conscious sedation. After you’re under, the dentist makes an incision in your gum. They may section your wisdom tooth and remove the pieces.
Dapto Dentists Can Treat Your Broken Wisdom Tooth
If you have a wisdom tooth causing you discomfort, your best option is to have it removed. Dapto Dental offers simple and complex wisdom teeth extractions for patients with a broken tooth in New South Wales. Our dentists will go over your options and help you determine which procedure is right for you. Contact Dapto Dental today to learn more.
Call us now on (02) 4210 9058.
