Removing wisdom teeth from your gums is typically a surgical procedure performed by a dental professional, involving carefully accessing and extracting the tooth from its socket.
The process of removing wisdom teeth from your gums is a surgical one carried out by a dentist or oral surgeon. The specific steps taken during the procedure are determined by how the tooth is positioned and whether it has fully emerged or is still covered by gum tissue or bone.
Surgical Steps for Wisdom Tooth Removal
Based on surgical practice, particularly when the tooth is covered by gum, the procedure follows a structured approach to ensure safe and effective removal. Here are the key steps involved:
- Gum Incision: If your gum is covering the wisdom tooth, the dentist or surgeon will cut your gum to expose the tooth underneath. This creates a clear pathway to access the tooth for removal.
- Socket Access: The dental professional will then widen the socket where the tooth fits into your gum. The socket is the bony space in your jaw where the tooth root is anchored. Widening it may be necessary to create enough space for the tooth to be safely extracted without causing damage to the surrounding bone.
- Tooth Extraction: The wisdom tooth will be removed from the widened socket. Depending on its size, shape, and position, the tooth may be removed in 1 piece, or cut into 2 or 3 pieces. Cutting the tooth into smaller sections is often done when it's impacted or positioned awkwardly, making it easier to extract without excessive force.
- Suturing: After the tooth is successfully removed, the gum tissue needs to heal. Your gum is then stitched if necessary, typically using dissolvable stitches. These stitches help close the surgical site, promote healing, and reduce the risk of infection. Dissolvable stitches break down and disappear on their own over time, eliminating the need for a follow-up visit just to have them removed.
This procedure ensures the tooth is safely detached and extracted from the jawbone and gum tissue under controlled conditions by a trained professional.
