Can Wisdom Teeth Cause Headaches?
Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to erupt in the oral cavity. They are highly uncomfortable for most of the people because of many difficulties caused by it while the eruption but can wisdom teeth cause headaches? If this is your question then the answer is Yes! but how? let’s learn about it.
If you are in your teenage and experiencing mild headaches and pain in your mouth then that can be the sign of eruption of a wisdom tooth. Here are the answers to all your questions regarding wisdom teeth.
Wisdom Teeth can cause headaches while eruption
Wisdom tooth is the other name of the third molars. A grown adult has 32 teeth in their mouth out of which 12 teeth are molars. Each jaw has 6 molars (3 on right side & 3 on left side).
The first molar erupts at the age of 6 years while the second molars erupt by 12-14 years of age. But if we talk about the third molars also known as wisdom teeth then they erupt in the age when most people attain wisdom i.e. 17-25 years of age. This is the reason why they are also called wisdom teeth.
As all the teeth already erupt in the age when jaw grows while the wisdom teeth erupt after the growth is stopped and due to it, there is very less space for the eruption of the wisdom teeth. Due to which It puts pressure on the jaw, neighbouring teeth and surrounding tissues. It can also cause mild headaches. If the tooth is impacted then it can cause many other complications too.
Wisdom teeth can’t cause Migraine
Some people assume that the eruption of wisdom teeth can also cause migraine but that is not true. The eruption of wisdom teeth can cause mild headache but doesn’t show any signs or symptoms of migraine at all. If you have a migraine then there can be a lot more reasons to it and you should consider visiting a doctor or neurosurgeon for it.
Does everyone have wisdom teeth?
You would have generally seen that many of us don’t have the third molar i.e. Wisdom teeth. On seeing this, A question arises that does everyone have wisdom teeth or not. The answer is Yes! Everyone has wisdom teeth.
Wisdom teeth are the third molars in our mouth but due to it’s less to no use, it is considered vestigial nowadays. Still everyone has the wisdom teeth in their mouth but in most cases they are impacted inside the jaw bone and do not erupt in the mouth.
It can be due to:
- Less space for eruption of the wisdom teeth
- Angle of eruption of wisdom teeth
How to check if I have Wisdom Teeth Impaction?
When a wisdom teeth do not erupt in the oral cavity, it is most likely impacted in the jaw bone. The impaction can be of many types based on different measures. We will talk about it some other day, Let’s learn how to check for impaction at home.
A impacted wisdom tooth shows many signs through which we can diagnose if it is impacted or not at home.
Signs of Impaction:
- Pain in neighbouring teeth – Since there is very less space for the eruption of the wisdom teeth, it puts pressure on the tooth near it which causes pain in them.
- Swollen gums – It can be due to accumulation of bacteria near the erupting teeth.
- Bad Breath (Halitosis) – There can be bad breath due to accumulation of plaque and food in the area of impaction. This food and bacteria causes foul smell from your mouth.
- Chewing discrepancies – When there is a pain, We intend to chew from the other side of the jaw which can also be involuntary and a sign of impacted wisdom tooth.
Treatment of Impacted Wisdom Teeth
The treatment of an impacted wisdom tooth is only extraction. The angle of eruption of tooth can’t be changed by any means till now. That’s why it needs a surgical extraction of the tooth followed by stitches near the area of surgery. The surgical treatment can be delayed by use of anti analgesics and pain killers but the last option is always the extraction of the tooth.
You should visit your dentist immediately if you find any of these signs as precaution is better than cure.
