When your wisdom teeth start to emerge it can definitely be painful, but it can be even worse if your wisdom teeth become impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth are trying to erupt but are unable to do so because there is not sufficient room for them to emerge. This usually means that your wisdom teeth are painfully lodged in your jawbone.

While you may not see any real signs of the emerging wisdom teeth when they are impacted, what you can’t see can still definitely hurt you. Some of the indicators of impacted wisdom teeth are listed below.

• Jaw Pain: Pain in the back of your jaw is a common indicator of impacted wisdom teeth. The pain often concentrates in the area around your gums.
• Changes in the Mouth: You may notice some changes in your mouth when you have impacted wisdom teeth. Reddish gums, swelling in the jaw, bleeding gums, and bad breath can all be indicators that you are dealing with impacted wisdom teeth.
• Headaches: If you suddenly start having headaches, especially at the same time as some of the other issues mentioned above, they may indicate impacted wisdom teeth.
• Chewing Issues: Problems with chewing normally can indicate impacted wisdom teeth. If you are having trouble making the chewing motions because your mouth won’t quite open and close as easily as it used to, impacted wisdom teeth may be the culprit.

The Solution

If you are suffering from impacted wisdom teeth, the best solution is usually going to be removal. This is not a problem that will resolve naturally, and in fact, your pain and other symptoms may worsen as your wisdom teeth become increasingly impacted. Dr. Clark and Downtown Dental team can review the details of wisdom teeth removal surgery with you and help you determine if this is the best solution for your situation.

Over the past few months, we’ve been rolling out a few of our favorite features of our new Waterlase iPlus Laser Dentistry option. Today, we want to take it a step further to talk about a dental procedure that no one likes to discuss… surgery.

When most people think of gum surgery, there are three words that come to mind: gross, ouch and no! Despite the fact that this surgery is necessary to prevent further issues or pain, many are hesitant to get the work done because of the anesthesia shots, the dreaded scalpel for removing tissue and stitches.

How we're removing the stress from gum surgery: 

We want to remove those three words with our laser dentistry option! With the Waterlase iPlus laser, gum surgeries usually require only topical anesthetic, no stitches and little to no post-operative pain. This means that you can get rid of the potentially harmful dental diseases without skipping a beat in your daily routine - healing faster without the set backs from shots or pain.

Now that it's stress free, what work can be done?
Downtown Dental offers laser dentistry treatments for the following common types of gum surgery:

• Ulcers or canker sore removal: If you know someone who deals with canker sores, you know how annoyed they can be. Fixing this issue has never been easier.
• Gingivectomy: What used to be the painful removal of overgrown or unsightly gums around teeth can be done without any shots or temporary swelling.
• Frenectomy: This complicated procedure helps countless children who suffer from speech problems or from spacing between the teeth. It removes part of the of cheek, lip or tongue muscle attachments. In the past, this meant an in-depth and invasive surgery that typically leaves patients with uncomfortable stitches and after-effects of anesthesia. Laser dentistry allows our team to perform the procedure quickly and more comfortably.

If you’ve been putting off gum surgery or a different dental procedure offered with laser dentistry, what are you waiting for? The pain-free future of dentistry is available in Downtown Nashville and we’d love for you to finally take care of the gum issues that have been prevented you from staying healthy from head to toe.

You can schedule an appointment or call our office today to learn more about how our laser dentistry option can make your next trip to the dentist more enjoyable than you ever thought possible.