Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars that most patients get in their teens or early twenties. When properly aligned and healthy, wisdom teeth can be an asset to your mouth, but most often, these teeth are misaligned and require extraction.

When wisdom teeth are not aligned properly, they can crowd or damage adjacent teeth, the jawbone or nerves in your mouth. Wisdom teeth often partially erupt, or become impacted. This allows an opening for bacteria to enter around the tooth and cause an infection, which in turn causes pain, swelling, jaw stiffness and general illness. Because of their awkward position in your mouth, and their hard to reach location, brushing and flossing of them is difficult.

A wisdom tooth that is fully erupted through your gum can be extracted as easily as any other tooth. A fully impacted wisdom tooth, one that is underneath the gums and embedded in the jawbone, will require an incision and removal of the bone that lies over the tooth. The tooth will be extracted in small pieces to minimize the amount of bone removal.

Why suffer with wisdom tooth pain? Dr. Van Maren has removed thousands of wisdom teeth in 24 years of practice, and the procedure will give you much relief.