How long does wisdom tooth pain last? When to get wisdom teeth removed?

How long it takes to recover from wisdom tooth pain is the major concern of those who are in trouble with the eighth tooth.

A normal adult mouth has 32 teeth. Among them, wisdom teeth are the last 4 ones to develop.

In fact, the mouth only has space for about 28 teeth. Thus, wisdom teeth can easily grow crooked, sideways, or misaligned, which leads to swelling and soreness in the mouth.

This condition stands a chance to recur continuously for a long time and make a great impact on the quality of life. Therefore, to overcome this problem, many people choose wisdom teeth removal (extraction).

Read more: Impacted wisdom teeth and complications

If you do not want to extract the tooth, how long does wisdom tooth pain last? And if you choose to remove it, when can you get it done? The following article will help you determine the answer to these questions.

Why do we have wisdom teeth?

Before trying to find out how long wisdom tooth pain lasts, it is better to understand the story behind this tooth.

The eighth tooth or the third molar is the last permanent tooth to grow. Another more common name of it is a “wisdom tooth” that marks a stage of intellectual development and cognitive ability of a person.

Basically, before wisdom teeth erupt, the other 28 adult teeth were fully developed in terms of shape, size as well as the ability to bite, tear, and crush food. For this reason, many people believe that the presence of wisdom teeth does not provide any benefits with regard to support chewing function or improve oral aesthetics.

Does everyone have wisdom teeth?

As a matter of fact, not everyone has wisdom teeth. According to statistics from the Journal of Dental Research, there is 5-37 percent of people who do not grow one or 4 wisdom teeth. Although the cause has not been determined specifically, some experts believe that genetic factors are related to this issue. More specifically, if your parents missed these wisdom teeth, you may not grow the third molars either.

In addition, lack of wisdom teeth sometimes can be caused by a number of other factors, such as:

• Living environment
• Daily diet
• The function of chewing and grinding

How long does wisdom tooth pain last?

The wisdom tooth pain just completely ends when that eighth tooth is fully developed. This also means that the time required for the tooth to finish breaking the gums is the answer to the wisdom tooth pain.

Normally, wisdom teeth will develop between ages 17 and 21. Since the jaw bone structure has formed firmly at that time, the wisdom teeth cannot come at once. Instead, it will be divided into several times and last for a few months. At each teething period, the gum will split to make part of the eighth tooth appear, which causes the gum to swell and become extremely painful.

On the other hand, everybody is not the same. That’s why in some cases, wisdom teeth can take 4-5 years to fully develop. At these points, you would suffer from wisdom tooth pain throughout the time.

Besides making eating and drinking difficult, wisdom tooth pain can also affect the overall health and life. Consequently, some dentists believe that wisdom tooth extraction is in need to overcome these problems.

When should you get wisdom teeth removed?

In general, it is not “a must” to remove wisdom tooth if the presence of it does not cause pain or affect other teeth or lead to a bunch of dental health problems, such as:

• Oral infection
• Dental caries (tooth decay)
• Unbalanced bite
• Periodontal infection

On the contrary, if you need to remove these last permanent teeth, get it done as soon as possible.

Having wisdom teeth pulled from the very beginning can help improve the success rate as well as the recovery efficiency. The reason for this is by the time the teeth begin to erupt, the bone structure around the gums is softer than later, which makes it easier for the dentist to intervene. Additionally, the tooth roots in the mouth are not fully developed at this time. Accordingly, the wisdom tooth extraction procedure can proceed smoothly and cause the patient as little pain as possible.

Read more: Is wisdom tooth removal painful?

Hopefully, this article can help you know how long the wisdom tooth pain lasts, and the time to get the tooth pulled. Furthermore, you should consider choosing a reputable dental clinic to remove your wisdom teeth and ensure it would be a smooth process that does not leave any unwanted complications.