If you wish to avoid a wisdom tooth hurting jaw, then you need to pay close attention to the following information. The wisdom teeth are the last set of teeth to come out of our gums (in our early twenties) and for this reason, we have to take as much care of them as we possibly can because we will never get another natural set. They are the main teeth that we use for chewing our food so they are a really big problem if they happen to get infected.Having a problem with wisdom teeth is more common than you may expect. The reason behind this is that by the time they are coming out there is usually very little space left on the jaw and thus many people will have them developing abnormally. This is usually termed as an impacted wisdom tooth.
The main reason for a wisdom tooth infection therefore is this abnormal emergence and development of the tooth. Due to the fact that there is not enough room left on the jaw, the wisdom tooth is forced to grow sideways instead of straight up. When it grows in this sideways manner it then starts applying pressure on the tooth beside it and vice versa. When this happens, a space is left in the gums, that is like a pocket in which food particles slowly but surely begin to accumulate. As these pieces of food get bacteria on them the bacteria will then lead to the decaying of the molars of the wisdom tooth.The pain that comes from an infected wisdom tooth can be pretty hard to bear and it often comes with terrible headaches and swelling of gums. To make matters even worse the infection leads to the multiplication of bacteria that can be resistant to antibiotics making the situation even more difficult to solve. There will eventually be an abcess in the area if no care is given to the tooth and gums.
When you have the gum swelling due to the wisdom tooth infection, this swelling can spread to the muscles that execute the opening and closing of the mouth. This means that when you go the dentist at this stage he is unable to extract the tooth because your mouth cannot open. The dentist therefore has to put you on antibiotics for no less than 7 days to make the swelling go down until you can easily open and close your mouth.
Another complication that can arise when your wisdom tooth gets infected and your gums swell up is that your upper wisdom tooth will give you another source of pain. The upper tooth that is growing pointing straight downward will keep on biting your lower swollen gum and aggravating it even further. When this occurs the infection is termed by dentists as a pericornitis.
To help prevent pericoronitis you have to make sure that you regularly and properly brush around the erupting wisdom tooth. The main idea is to prevent the accumulation of food particles and consequently bacteria in the gum pockets. This will give you the best chance of avoiding a painful wisdom tooth infection.
