I am concerned that my son needs to visit an emergency dentist. His wisdom teeth have been causing him a great deal of pain for the last several days. They are even preventing him from eating. I encouraged him to make an appointment with an emergency dentist, but he didn’t see the need, stating that it happens sometimes. He did let me take a quick glance. While I couldn’t see the tooth, I did notice the gums are swollen up around the tooth. He is convinced this is completely normal and the tooth just hasn’t pushed all the way through yet. Is this something you see often? Or, should I continue to encourage him to see an emergency dentist?

Thank you,
Kristi

Dear Kristi,
Everyone is different. Some people have wisdom teeth break through later in life, while others never get them, or need them to be extracted. The most important piece to this is how the wisdom teeth come in and the amount of space around them. These teeth can cause problems because there is little room for them. They force other teeth out of the way and move everything. It is difficult to clean these teeth, not only because of the cramped space, but because the gums are still covering some of the wisdom teeth. Infections and tooth decay can occur when the gums lift up enough for food and bacteria to enter and become trapped.

Wisdom teeth can also cause pain in other, more typical, ways. Sometimes, when they push the surrounding teeth out of the way, that can cause those teeth to hurt, though sometimes the pain is just in one area. Yet other times, the pain stays in one area. They can also cause sinus, jaw, and ear pain. A general dentist would probably suggest the teeth be taken out. However, because you are noticing swollen gums, it could be a symptom of an infection. In addition, if the pain is so intense that it is preventing eating, there is certainly a problem. Both of these symptoms yield a reason to see an emergency dentist if he doesn’t have a general dentist who can see him very soon. If there is, in fact, an infection, it is crucial he be seen today.

This article is sponsored by Phoenix emergency dentist, Dr. Hillary Peck.