Common complications and risks associated with removing impacted wisdom teeth

The discussion over the probable risks and complications that are linked to removal of the impacted wisdom teeth is considered to be a major role of an oral surgeon. It must be clear that the removal option is not to be practiced if the costs exceed the benefits. The common complications that may occur are as follows.

Paresthesia

Impacted wisdom teeth are mostly positioned in a manner such that they are in close contact with the nerves. In the extraction process, these nerves can sometimes get damaged and bruised, leading to numbness of a part like tongue, chin or lip. This condition is commonly known as parathesia. This numbness is similar to being injected with anesthesia or any other numbing procedure. But the numbness in such cases lasts only for a few hours but the parathesia condition may range from a few days or weeks (temporary) to several months (severe cases). In case of the nerve damage being large, this condition may become permanent.

This condition is a sensory phenomenon rather than a motor one, meaning that a modified state or loss of sensation (proprioception, touch, pain, temperature) in the concerned area can be observed and not any experiences of interaction problems like compromised tongue movements, facial deformities, speech deficits, etc.

The only way to avoid this problem is to remove the teeth at a very young age, since as humans age, the roots of their impacted wisdom teeth prolong to develop, thus making it tough for extraction without affecting the surrounding tissues. The occurrence of nerve damage has been high (10%) after 35 years and rare in teenagers.


Dry Sockets

Dry sockets otherwise called as alveolar osteitis, is a common complication similar to parathesia. The causes for dry sockets are thought to be

1. A sufficient blood clot has not been formed in the extracted tooth socket.

2. The formed blood clot has moved away from the socket and lost into the body.

The formation of the blood clot is an important part after impacted teeth extraction for its healing to occur. This condition may delay the healing process owing to the above reasons. Though this is an unfortunate complication, it is not specified as the only reason for not performing wisdom teeth extractions though it has a temporary side effect.

A dry socket can cause a dull pain which will occur 3-4 days after the extraction of the impacted teeth. This pain ranges from moderate to severe. Besides, a foul odor can be associated frequently with this condition. This condition needs to be immediately treated by the oral surgeon. A medicated dressing will be placed to soothe and moderate the pain. In addition, this dressing needs to be changed every 24 hours until the condition subsides. This is a most common occurrence in women, people over 30 years of age and smokers.