Your jaw aches every time you eat. You cannot tell if it is a cavity, a cracked tooth, or something new coming in at the back of your mouth. Wisdom teeth do not always cause problems. When they do, the signs are usually clear once you know what to look for.
A dentist usually recommends removing a wisdom tooth when it is impacted, only partly through the gum, or pressing on the tooth beside it. Repeated infection and pain are common reasons too. A dentist confirms this with an exam and an x-ray, not guesswork. Notice swelling, pain at the back of your jaw, or trouble opening your mouth wide? It is worth getting checked.
Dr. Christine Kveder, DMD, walks nervous patients through this exact decision at Selkirk Crossing Dental Centre in Selkirk. She keeps the conversation plain and skips the clinical jargon. Patients who come in anxious about getting a tooth pulled often say that helps more than they expected.
Key takeaways if a wisdom tooth is bothering you
● Pain, swelling, or a bad taste near your back teeth usually means a wisdom tooth needs a look, not weeks of waiting.
● Most people have four wisdom teeth, but only the ones actually causing pain, infection, or crowding typically need to come out.
● An impacted wisdom tooth cannot break fully through the gum or jawbone. That is the most common reason dentists recommend removal.
● Most wisdom tooth problems show up between the late teens and mid-twenties, though a dentist can remove a problem tooth at any age.
● Call Selkirk Crossing Dental Centre if you have swelling, fever, or pain that keeps getting worse instead of settling down.
How do you know if a wisdom tooth is actually a problem?
A wisdom tooth is worth investigating when it hurts consistently. Swelling or tenderness in the gum around it is another sign. So is trouble opening your mouth as wide as usual. Bad breath or an odd taste that will not go away, even with good brushing, often points to infection around a tooth that has only partly broken through.
One of these signs on its own is common and usually not urgent. Several signs together, or pain that keeps getting worse, is what tells a dentist to take a closer look. A wisdom tooth extraction is not automatic just because a tooth is present at all. Dr. Kveder examines the tooth and checks an x-ray for its angle and position first. She recommends removal only when the tooth is actually causing, or is likely to cause, a real problem.
Pay attention to pain that spreads toward your ear or jaw joint. That pattern can also come from a cracked or fractured tooth, not a wisdom tooth at all, so it is worth having a dentist tell the two apart. Sudden facial swelling or a fever alongside the pain is different. That combination has crossed into a dental emergency, and it needs same-day attention rather than a routine booking.
Why wisdom teeth cause problems for some people and not others
Most adult jaws have comfortable room for 28 teeth. Once all four wisdom teeth arrive, that number jumps to 32. That gap is the root of the problem for a lot of people. When there is not enough space at the back of the jaw, a wisdom tooth cannot come in straight.
It can wedge against the tooth beside it, angle into the jawbone, or stay partly covered by gum tissue that traps food and bacteria underneath. None of that happens quietly forever, which is why the pain or swelling eventually shows up.
Not everyone runs short on room, though. Some jaws are large enough for all four wisdom teeth to come in straight and work like any other molar. That is why one sibling can keep theirs for life while another needs them out at nineteen. The Canadian Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons recommends a full history and exam before deciding either way, since impaction is not always something you can feel yet.
Can a problem wisdom tooth affect the rest of your mouth?
A wisdom tooth pressing directly on the molar next to it can wear down that tooth's root over time. It can also push the neighbouring tooth out of position. That part is well established in dental research. Whether wisdom teeth cause general crowding of your front teeth is a separate question, and it is less settled than many people assume. Dentists watched for this for decades, but the evidence tying a back wisdom tooth to crowding at the front of the mouth is weaker than once believed.
What actually matters is what one specific tooth is doing in one specific mouth. A tooth pushing on its neighbour is a real reason to remove it. So is one that keeps getting infected, or one sitting in a spot that traps plaque no toothbrush can reach.
If the ache you feel only flares when you bite down hard, that pattern points more toward a cracked tooth than a wisdom tooth problem, and the two need different treatment entirely. A wisdom tooth doing none of the above often just needs watching instead of pulling.
What happens if you leave a problem wisdom tooth alone?
An infected or impacted wisdom tooth rarely gets better on its own. Left alone, a partly erupted tooth keeps trapping bacteria under the flap of gum covering it. Dentists call this pericoronitis. That infection can spread to the cheek or jaw if it goes untreated long enough, and in rare cases it travels further into the neck.
The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons recommends that every young adult have their wisdom teeth evaluated. From there, a dentist either treats the tooth or actively monitors it, rather than leaving it unchecked indefinitely. A tooth causing no trouble today can still shift, decay, or crowd against an already-restored tooth years later. That is why the exam matters even when nothing hurts yet.
What actually happens during a wisdom tooth extraction at Selkirk Crossing
Once Dr. Kveder confirms a wisdom tooth needs to come out, you can read more about Dr. Kveder's training and background on her profile before your visit. The procedure itself is more routine than most patients expect. The dentist numbs the gum, then opens a small incision over the tooth. The dentist carefully removes any bone covering the tooth next.
The tooth comes out, and the dentist closes the site with stitches and gauze to control bleeding while healing begins. Most patients return to normal daily activity within a day or two. Fuller healing follows over the next couple of weeks. Selkirk Crossing's digital x-ray imaging maps a problem tooth's position and angle before the procedure is even booked, so there are fewer surprises once you are in the chair.
Getting your wisdom teeth checked in Selkirk
A dull ache at the back of your jaw is reason enough to get it looked at. You do not have to wait for it to get worse. Not every wisdom tooth needs to come out. Selkirk Crossing Dental Centre will tell you plainly if yours is one the dentist can simply watch instead.
Call 204-481-4484 or book an appointment online to have Dr. Kveder or Dr. Cissé take a look. Selkirk Crossing Dental Centre sits at Unit 3, 1012 Manitoba Avenue in Selkirk. Appointments run most weekdays, plus one Saturday a month for patients who cannot get away during the week.