The History of Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth can be a pain in the neck or more specifically the mouth. These teeth appear later in life, emerging in the upper and lower back areas of the mouth in the 17-25 age years. After wisdom teeth grow in completely, your dentist may recommend a tooth extraction to prevent infection. At Kidz Connextion located in Phoenix, AZ, your dentist provides safe and effective wisdom tooth extractions. But first, the question remains, why do we have wisdom teeth anyway?

History of Wisdom Teeth

Since they are the last to appear in the human mouth, wisdom teeth garnered the title “wisdom” presumably because they make you wiser. Wisdom teeth were once very useful in human history, aiding our ancestors to chew and tear tough roots, meats, nuts, and plants. But because most of the human diet today is soft and cooked foods, the need for wisdom teeth is virtually none, with anthropologists suggesting their DNA may soon completely disappear from genetics.

Wisdom Teeth Today: Extractions and Removal

Since wisdom teeth aren’t needed anymore today, they are more likely to do harm than good to your mouth. When a wisdom tooth can’t break through the gums or is stuck under the gums, this means it’s impacted. A wisdom tooth that grows at the wrong angle due to lack of room in the mouth also is impacted. Partially impacted wisdom teeth, which only slightly emerge from the gums are also a cause for concern. 

Your Phoenix, AZ dentist recommends an extraction when your wisdom tooth is impacted and if you experience the following symptoms:

-Pain

-Infection

-Ulcers near the tooth

-Tooth decay

-Damage to nearby teeth

-Gum disease

-Trouble opening jaw

-Bleeding gums

-Sudden bad breath

Sometimes wisdom teeth, even if not impacted, don’t need to be removed because they cause no oral health issues. Here are examples of when you don’t need an extraction:

-Your wisdom teeth are healthy and fully grown in

-Your wisdom teeth are positioned correctly

-Your wisdom teeth are easily reached for proper dental hygiene

Kidz Connextion has three convenient locations in Phoenix, Arizona. To schedule an appointment at 2533 N 75th St, text 623-232-0749. For our office at 2046 N 24th St, text 480-666-5984. For our office at 524 E Baseline Rd, text 480-405-4714. Or, visit Kidz Connextion on our website.

Panoramic X-Rays

Kidz Connexion in Phoenix maintains high standards for care, and part of that means having up-to-date equipment. Our practice utilizes panoramic x-ray machines, and you may have seen them on previous visits. These devices allow us to provide reliable orthodontic assessments and to intervene early if there’s an issue with a child’s facial growth, allowing them to be treated more effectively.

 

Panoramic x-rays provide a complete picture of a patient’s skull by observing them from all angles. This is an improvement over 2-d pictures, in which x-rays may be blocked by prosthetics such as fillings. In adult patients, panoramic x-rays are usually used to monitor the integration of implants, observe the progression of gum disease, and check for oral cancer. But in pediatric patients, 3-d x-rays allow us to observe the placement of impacted teeth and to better determine how to guide their eruption or plan their extraction. They also allow us to plan for orthognathic treatment such as palate expansion.

 

Panoramic x-rays are easy and safe for the patient. After removing metal jewelry, they simply have to bite their front teeth down on a plastic tab to help position their jaws while the scanners rotate around their head. The whole process only takes about a minute, and the scanners can be adjusted for people of different heights or who are in wheelchairs. There’s a limited time in a person’s life before their jaw bones solidify too much for unerupted canines and incisors to be guided into place, but with more accurate x-rays, we can plan for orthodontic treatments that will spare a pediatric patient from needing oral surgery as an adult.

 

Kidz Connextion has three convenient locations in Phoenix, Arizona. To schedule an appointment at 2533 N 75th St, text 623-232-0749. For our office at 2046 N 24th St, text 480-666-5984. For our office at 524 E Baseline Rd, text 480-405-4714. Or, visit Kidz Connextion on our website.

Swollen Lips after Procedures

We put high priority on children’s comfort at Kidz Connextion in Phoenix. When children need to be numbed for a procedure, we’re efficient and offer nitrous oxide to relieve their anxiety. But we depend on our patients and their parents to cooperate in order to prevent complications. One potential issue that may come up otherwise is a swollen lip, so we want the families we serve to understand what causes it and what they should do if one develops.

 

The alveolar nerve is what supplies sensations to the chin and lower lip. We often numb it with an injected anesthetic when doing work such as fillings and extractions. Loss of sensation in the lower lip makes it feel rubbery, and children who are new to being anesthetized may bite down on it out of curiosity. But, being numb, they have difficulty judging how hard they are biting, and can easily exert great force. Within hours of being bitten, the ulcerated lip may begin swelling, becoming several times its usual size.

 

The swelling is usually only somewhat uncomfortable, but it may look frightening and interfere with eating and speaking. If it is red and the child has a fever, it may be infected, in which case it would require antibiotics. But if not, it will reduce within a week. Children should be reminded to avoid biting when they go home numb after a procedure, but they can also reduce swelling by applying ice packs for fifteen minute intervals. After forty-eight hours, they may switch to heat packs, as long as they continue alternating the pack on and off every fifteen minutes.

 

Kidz Connextion has three convenient locations in Phoenix, Arizona. To schedule an appointment at 2533 N 75th St, text 623-232-0749. For our office at 2046 N 24th St, text 480-666-5984. For our office at 524 E Baseline Rd, text 480-405-4714. Or, visit Kidz Connextion on our website.

Extraction Site Preservation

Sometimes pulling teeth is a necessary procedure for overcrowding in the mouth or infection due to tooth decay. It isn’t a procedure to be taken lightly. Like wisdom teeth removal, where the teeth are located in the back of the mouth and sutures are used, the tooth extraction site essentially becomes an open wound and one that needs to be monitored and given time to heal. We at Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces in Phoenix, AZ, understand that getting a tooth pulled isn’t very pleasant, but we are committed to making the procedure and healing process as comfortable as possible for all patients.


If you ever think your healing process doesn’t feel normal, you should contact our office. Signs of complications include:

- Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain

- Severe nausea or vomiting

- Redness, swelling, or excessive discharge from the extraction site

- Signs of infection, such as fever and chills


Something else to keep in mind when removing teeth is what to do with that open space once it has healed. If a tooth is removed and nothing is done to the extraction site, your jaw bone will degenerate and change shape while the site heals. This can create problems in your bite and may affect chewing and speaking. Make sure you and your dentist come up with a plan to fill this space.


We are happy to address any questions or concerns you might have. Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces has three separate offices in the Phoenix, AZ, area for your convenience. For more information about our services or to schedule an appointment, please visit kidzconnextion.com. You can also call 623-232-0749 for our N. 75th Ave. office, 480-666-5984 for the N. 24th St. office, and 480-405-4714 for the E. Baseline Rd. office.

Dry Sockets

When we extract teeth at Kidz Connextion, it is very important to us that our patients and their parents understand what to do at home following the operation. Though it is rare, one of the biggest risks following an extraction is a dry socket, so we want families to be able to recognize it as well as prevent it.

It is crucial after a tooth is extracted for a blood clot to be allowed to form over the socket and remain in place. Certain behaviors, such as smoking and taking birth control, are known to prevent blood from clotting properly. We especially emphasize to kids that they should avoid drinking through straws. The suction can pull clots loose, exposing the socket and leaving it vulnerable to drying out and becoming infected. Unfortunately, even if a patient follows all the instructions, there is a chance of a dry socket developing. This is particularly true if the extraction was complicated enough to require sutures.

Dry sockets are painful. If a person is in severe pain a few days after the operation or the bleeding hasn’t stopped, they need an emergency appointment. The socket will be cleaned with a vacuum and a dentist will dress the surgical wound in medicated paste or gauze. The patient may also need painkillers and antibiotics and to come back every few days to have the dressings replaced, but that is usually all the harm a dry socket does.

Kidz Connextion Dental Care maintains offices around Phoenix. To find out more, visit our website at KidzConnextion.com.