7 Complications Associated with Wisdom Tooth Removal

 7 Complications Associated With Wisdom Tooth Removal

Southern Georgia Oral Surgery
WWW.SouthernGeorgiaOMS.com
Roger Myers DMD

Requiring removal of wisdom teeth can be an anxious moment. In most cases, we seek treatment because of pain, swelling and other related issues.
Before one makes the decision to have wisdom teeth removed, the risks and complications of the procedure should be identified.

1) Bleeding- Bleeding is inherent to most surgical procedures and can be dealt with accordingly. Lower wisdom teeth are sometimes difficult to remove and bleeding will occur post-operatively. After an extraction, the patient should bite on guaze for intervals of 10 minutes until the bleeding stops. If after and hour, I usually instruct my patients to bite on a wet tea bag. The tea bag has tannins which facilitate a clot(this method has also worked on patients taking anticoagulants).
2) Nerve Numbness- There are three different degrees of nerve injury
a) Neuropraxia- Crushed or piched, transient loss of sensation 1-3
months
b) Axonotemesis- Partial nerve tear, regian feeling 3-6 months
c) Neurotemesis- Complete tear of nerce bundle, repair required with
no definte nerve recuperation
3) Swelling- The presence of swelling can result in limited opening and increased post-operative pain. A hot water bottle is the method of reducing the swelling expediantly, because the warmth diffuses the fluid collection that causes swelling.
4) Damage to adjacent teeth- Having any tooth removed can result in damage of an adjacent tooth. Whether the damage is a fracture or luxation of the adjacent tooth, it can and does happen.
5) Jaw Fractue- Whether the tooth is an upper or lower wisdom tooth, the bone can be fractured during the extraction process.
6) Tooth Fragments- Attempting to remove a tooth can cause afracture of the root. If the root fragment is less than 1mm, it can remain without incident. But, if the fragment is significant the remaining tooth portion must be removed. By remaining the tooth fragment acts as a nidus for infection and thereby icrease the risk of infection for the patient.
7) Infection- Any surgery that results in bleeding and exposure of the patient to the external environment can result in an infection. The oral cavity have a plethora of bacterial typoes and antibiotics chould be given after any extraction is complete.