Can I get clear aligners treatment without removing my wisdom teeth?

Upper wisdom teeth usually do not affect orthodontic treatment (braces/clear aligners) except in certain cases. Since you are an adult (non-growing) Class II (this may be skeletal or dental) with an overjet, you may need to consider 3 possible camouflage techniques to reduce the overjet: 1) IPR (slimming down the teeth to gain space) 2) Extraction of upper premolars 3) Distalization of the upper arch Each method has different effects on your facial profile and vary in complexity and overall treatment time.

Photo of Dr Jaclyn Toh

Answered By

Dr Jaclyn Toh

Dentist

How can I prevent trapped food in my gum after wisdom tooth removal? (photo)

From the picture you have sent in, it does seem that there is a " hole " in the gum where food can fall in and get stuck inside. What you could do is to get from your dentist an irrigation syringe and blunt needle to flush out food that gets in there. Alternatively, you could visit your dentist during this period of healing to get him to use his dental equipment to flush out the food. Do note that this problem will not be permanent as the gums will fully regenerate and the " hole" will no longer be there. I hope this answer helps and I wish you a speedy recovery!

Photo of Dr Gerald Tan

Answered By

Dr Gerald Tan

Dentist

Is it normal for bleeding to occur 3 days after wisdom teeth extraction? When should I be concerned?

It is possible to have bleeding after a few days post operatively. There are a few factors which may have caused your bleeding: An unstable blood clot or the clot may have been disturbed due to eg) vigorous rinsing / exercising You experienced a difficult removal, which may cause the surrounding soft tissues or bone to bleed more. If you have high blood pressure If you have a “large” blood vessel in your bone or soft tissue which was traumatized You could try to bite on a gauze for 30 minutes, or apply pressure at the socket site to help stop the bleeding.

Photo of Dr Joanne Lam

Answered By

Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

How do I know if my wisdom tooth needs to be extracted?

In terms of giving you any personable advice, I completely agree with Dr Shiming. It’s really hard for us to comment until we’ve done an examination for yourself. However, I thought I’d share with you some common reasons why wisdom teeth are extracted. If any apply to you or anyone else reading, then maybe you should consider to remove them. Pericoronitis. If the wisdom can’t erupt fully, there may be a flap of loose gum which lies over or around the erupted portion of the wisdom tooth. Food and bacteria can get stuck under this flap and cause a localised gum infection.

Photo of Dr Joanne Lam

Answered By

Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

What should I do next for a wisdom tooth infection that is still causing pain?

It sounds as though you have pericoronitis of the lower left wisdom tooth. This is an infection caused usually by food trapping and bacteria build-up underneath the gum flap covering the wisdom tooth. The white liquid you can express from the infected area is pus, which is a combination of bacteria and dead white blood cells fighting the infection. Since you have already had 2 episodes of infection, it would be a good idea to consider removing the wisdom tooth to get rid of the food trap once and for all.

Photo of Dr Jaclyn Toh

Answered By

Dr Jaclyn Toh

Dentist

Do I have to extract my wisdom teeth before Invisalign?

That depends on the position of your wisdom teeth. If the position of your wisdom teeth does not affect treatment, we can usually leave them in. If your treatment requires molar distalization (molar teeth to be moved), then the wisdom teeth will need to be removed. Do consult your orthodontist so that he/she can have a thorough examination of your dental condition (clinically and radiographically) and advise accordingly.

Photo of Dr Eugene Chan

Answered By

Dr Eugene Chan

Orthodontist

Is wisdom tooth removal absolutely necessary if my jaw has started to hurt? (photo)

Thank you for the enquiry. It seems likely to me based on your description that there is pain due to the biting trauma from the upper tooth that is biting on the lower gum partially covering the lower left wisdom tooth. Dr Gerald has given a thorough description of what should be done and I agree with all that he has said. An alternative solution to relieve the pain would be to do something called crown lengthening. Crown lengthening is as follows: Basically its to uncover the gum over the tooth that is causing pain and this procedure is medisave claimable.

Photo of Dr Beth Seow

Answered By

Dr Beth Seow

Dentist

What consequences are there if I do not extract a wisdom tooth that is causing gum discomfort? (photo)

When it comes to wisdom teeth where there are episodes of discomfort and pain, I am in favour of extracting them and here's why: 1. Recurrent gum infection Based on your Xray, the lower wisdom teeth are quite upright. However due to the lack of space, they are still covered by the gum. What this means is that there will keep being off and on pain because when you bite and chew, the upper back molar would keep biting on the gum and after a while, cause gum inflammation also known as pericoronitis - ouch.

Photo of Dr Beth Seow

Answered By

Dr Beth Seow

Dentist

Is it recommended to remove 4 wisdom teeth at one go?

Hello there! Most of the time, I would do 2 on one side (RHS), then 2 on the other side (LHS). If you have a healthy threshold for mouth opening and want to just get it sorted in one visit, it is possible. Is it safe to be done under local anesthesia? Yes. Removing 4 teeth at one go and related considerations: Pre removal - If the 4 wisdom teeth are fully out and non surgical extractions, then by all means have 4 out at one go under local anesthesia should be a relatively quick and straightforward procedure. During surgery - your jaw gets really tired half way through!

Photo of Dr Beth Seow

Answered By

Dr Beth Seow

Dentist

What are treatment options for a swollen, painful gum at my wisdom tooth area?

Sorry to hear that you are experiencing such discomfort at the moment! As you are 18 years old, this a prime age for wisdom teeth to be growing out ie erupting and they usually cause discomfort as they are the last ones to erupt so there is usually no space for them to come out straight. As a result, bacteria accumulates with the 'awkardly' angled (impacted) wisdom teeth and it sometimes causes something called pericoronitis. This is gum inflammation around the wisdom tooth.

Photo of Dr Beth Seow

Answered By

Dr Beth Seow

Dentist

Should I extract my wisdom teeth before doing braces?

In general, wisdom teeth are only extracted if they are impacted and causing pain or infection, at risk of causing decay or gum diseases to the tooth in front, causing biting issues or in the way of your braces treatment. For my patients, I would normally advise to have the wisdom teeth assessed BEFORE braces treatment as it may not need to be extracted at all! Your best bet would be to consult an orthodontist to get a proper diagnosis for your braces treatment first and during the consultation, the orthodontist wil be able to advise if you need the wisdom teeth extracted. I hope this helps!

Photo of Dr Sylvia Tan

Answered By

Dr Sylvia Tan

Orthodontist

How can I tell if my wisdom tooth is causing a gum infection? (photo)

Hello Jermaine, Nice photograph! Based on the photograph, the 'small tooth' that you see is a budding / partially erupted wisdom tooth that looks like it is growing sideways. This is a very common problem with wisdom teeth because they are the last ones to erupt in the mouth which sometimes leads to pain and discomfort because there is not enough space in your mouth to accommodate the new tooth. Here is my advise to you based on your symptoms and photo: 1.

Photo of Dr Beth Seow

Answered By

Dr Beth Seow

Dentist

What is the recommended method to remove a fragment left behind after a wisdom tooth extraction?

Sorry to hear that there is a fragment left behind at the extraction site. I do agree with Dr Gerald that it sometimes happens to even the best of us. While trying to extract a tooth, sometimes it makes more sense to leave a small little fragment behind, than to scour and cause more damage to the surroundings. Generally if the fragment is small and uninfected, problems shouldn’t arise from it. After a year (since your surgery was at March 2017), we have to weigh the pros and cons of removing the fragment especially if it’s firmly embedded and hard to access.

Photo of Dr Kenneth Tan

Answered By

Dr Kenneth Tan

Dentist

When is it absolutely necessary to remove my wisdom tooth if I'm afraid of surgery? (photo)

A lot of my patients ask me the very same question and I would be more than glad to share with you my opinion on the matter for the benefit of other readers too. I don't think I am wrong to say that no one likes to undergo wisdom tooth surgery! Or any surgery for the matter. Unless absolutely necessary of course. So here is a quick summary of reasons and indications that would justify a recommendation to you to consider having wisdom tooth surgery: 1.

Photo of Dr Gerald Tan

Answered By

Dr Gerald Tan

Dentist

Can an erupting wisdom tooth cause other teeth to shift and become shaky?

Thank you for your enquiry. We see this very commonly in many adults, who notice their lower teeth becoming more crooked or shifting especially in their early 20s. This is termed as late lower incisor crowding. The cause of this is unfortunately not as straight forward, and years of studies show that it could be due to many reasons. Here are some of the possible causes: 1) Erupting wisdom teeth pushing the lower teeth forward - however, there have been studies where patients with no wisdom teeth have also experienced this late crowding of the lower teeth.

Photo of Dr Geraldine Lee

Answered By

Dr Geraldine Lee

Orthodontist

Ask any health question for free

I’m not so sure about a procedure...

Ask Icon Ask a Question

Join Human

Sign up now for a free Human account to get answers from specialists in Singapore.

Sign Up

Get The Pill

Be healthier with our Bite-sized health news straight in your inbox

Statistics

11.4KTreatment Views

80Answers

138.2KViews of Answers