Having obtained a good name only, wisdom teeth are one of the trouble makers in modern human being. Wisdom teeth are the upper and lower third molars, located at the very back of the mouth. They are called wisdom teeth because usually they come in when a person is between age 17 and 21 or older—old enough to have gained some "wisdom."

Wisdom teeth may break partway through your gums, causing a flap of gum tissue to grow over them where food can become trapped and a gum infection can develop. Wisdom teeth can also come in crooked or facing the wrong direction. Or, if your jaw is not large enough to give them room, wisdom teeth may become impacted and unable to break through your gums. You may have trouble properly cleaning around wisdom teeth because they are so far in the back of your mouth and may be crowded, which may result in decaying of the 2nd molars in front of them.

Symptoms that may mean your wisdom teeth need to be removed include:

• Pain or jaw stiffness near an impacted tooth.
• Pain or irritation from a tooth coming in at an awkward angle and rubbing against your cheek, tongue, or top or bottom of the mouth.
• An infected swelling in the flap of gum tissue that has formed on top of an impacted tooth that has partially broken through the gum.
• A swallen face on one side that may be life-threatening.
• Crowding of other teeth.
• Tooth decay or gum disease if there's not enough room to properly care for the wisdom tooth and surrounding teeth.

Most problems with wisdom teeth develop in people between the ages of 15 and 25. Few people older than 30 develop problems that require removal of their wisdom teeth. I've had to remove 4 wisdom teeth for a 65 year old patient due to continued eruption of them.

Most oral surgeons recommend to have wisdom teeth removed before the age of 20 because usually no severe problems have been created by the wisdom teeth and the jaw bone and tooth roots are relatively soft.

Having a background as an oral surgeon in China, I am very good at wisdom tooth extraction. I offer IV sedation with extraction so that the procedure is totally pain free. Even the dental needles are not "felt" by the patients. If you are having trouble with your wisdom teeth right now, I can offer same day emergent service to help you get rid of the problem immediately. Please contact my main office for wisdom tooth emergency.