Oral Health and Genetic Risk Factors

Do Your Teeth Move After Wisdom Teeth Extraction?

You might not have even realised how troublesome your wisdom teeth were until your dentist extracted them. Without truly knowing it, your unwelcome wisdom teeth had been responsible for a recurring selection of dental problems, ranging from pericoronitis (inflamed and swollen gum tissues) to the discomfort associated with overcrowding (too many teeth in a jaw that's too small for them). Your overall bite will be improved now that your wisdom teeth have been safely extracted, but it's surprisingly easy to mistake some of these improvements for potential problems.

A Reconfiguration of Your Bite

The extraction of wisdom teeth is a surgical procedure, although it's so commonplace that it's considered one of the most standard general dentistry services. The loss of your wisdom teeth will reconfigure your bite, and this is in fact one of the objectives of having your wisdom teeth removed.

Tooth Mobility After Wisdom Teeth Extraction

This reconfiguration can be mistaken for tooth mobility, which is when your teeth literally become mobile and shift in their sockets. Tooth mobility can be a precursor to tooth loss and is associated with advanced periodontal disease. It can also be the direct result of an accident that caused blunt force trauma to your jaw, loosening your teeth while not dislodging them. Your other teeth may feel mobile after wisdom tooth extraction, but this is mostly a misconception.

An Overcrowded Dental Arch

If your wisdom teeth contributed to significant overcrowding in your dental arch, some minor movement may be experienced after extraction. This is simply teeth that were misaligned or overlapping correcting themselves. Any movement will be minimal if it's noticed at all. In most cases, a feeling of mobility is essentially an illusion.

A Feeling of Space

It might feel as though all of your teeth are shifting, but this is generally incorrect. The removal of your wisdom teeth creates more space on your dental arch, and this new space can create the impression that your teeth are moving, even when they are not. Similarly, the removal of wisdom teeth removes significant pressure on the dental arch, which can again create the feeling that your teeth are moving, however slightly.

If you should truly be concerned that your teeth have become mobile after wisdom teeth extraction, then you should certainly consult a general dentistry service. For the majority of patients, this inaccurate sense of tooth mobility is simply your jaw adjusting to its newfound sense of space.


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