Is having a painful wisdom tooth a serious problem?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am experiencing pain because of my erupting wisdom tooth. It is very painful. I have to take medicines to be alright. After two weeks, the pain got subsided, but my wisdom tooth did not erupt. In the place of my wisdom tooth and the tooth beside it, there is a persistent swelling. It is not painful, but I have a tingling feeling. I feel a tooth underneath it. Should I wait for it to erupt? Is it a serious problem? I hope you can explain to me my case.

Please help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

The erupting wisdom tooth causes pain because it does not have the space to erupt completely and gets impacted. It is at an angle to the adjacent tooth rather than being vertical causing an accumulation of the food, leading to bacterial growth and swelling. The painkillers and antibiotics will only temporarily subside the problem. I would suggest you get an OPG (orthopantomogram), to correctly determine the position of the wisdom tooth and get it extracted if it does not have the space to erupt.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.