My boyfriend is in so much pain he can’t eat. He still has his wisdom teeth at 24. The gums are swollen. He insists it happens periodically and goes away. It looks like one of his gums has a flap in it. That could be the problem but I think a dentist needs to look at it. I don’t know how to convince him to go.

Liz B. – Montana

Liz,

You may not be able to convince him, but you’re right, he needs to be seen. “Normal” pain for wisdom teeth would be aching in the arches. That happens because the other teeth are being pushed. However, even if it was normal pain, if it’s recurring it’s a good idea to remove the wisdom teeth. If he was under the care of a general dentist they’d have told him that.

Your boyfriend’s pain is not normal. In fact, it’s dangerous. This could blow up into an infection quickly. It likely already is one, given that he’s in so much pain he can’t eat. This infection needs to be dealt with. If he doesn’t already have a dentist he needs to be seen by an emergency dentist. People still die from tooth infections. They can blow up quickly and then it’s too late. Just this past February, there was a news story about a 26-year-old father of two, in California, who died because the infection from his tooth spread to his lungs. People often underestimate how essential proper dental care is.

That gum flap you described could be a big part of the problem. It may be opening just enough for food to get trapped in there. If so, bacteria will thrive and spread, causing an infection. It’s likely they’ll recommend their removal.

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