5 Early Signs of an Impacted Wisdom Tooth

By the age of about 25, most people already have—or have had—their wisdom teeth. Many people need to have their wisdom teeth extracted quite early, before they begin to cause problems. This is because by the time wisdom teeth begin to erupt, the jaw no longer has enough room to support them. When this happens, wisdom teeth become impacted, or lodged in the bone and gum.

Impacted wisdom teeth can cause many issues like gum infections, toothache, headaches and chronic pain. That's why spotting the early symptoms is important. With early wisdom teeth removal, you can avoid any further complications.

The following are some of the earliest signs of an impacted wisdom tooth.

1. Tenderness

One of the earliest signs of an impacted wisdom tooth is tenderness. This is usually when the tooth begins to erupt and is blocked by the jawbone or gum tissue due to a lack of space. If the gum tissue around the erupting tooth feels tender when you touch it with your tongue, then the tooth may come in impacted.

2. Swelling

The next most common sign is swelling around the site of the erupting tooth. This is due to the gum tissue becoming inflamed and infected. Impacted wisdom teeth usually have a flap of gum tissue covering them, and bacteria and food debris can then find their way under that flap and lead to a gum infection. This leads to swelling.

3. Bleeding

When you brush your teeth or eat, you may also begin to notice that the area around your wisdom tooth begins to bleed. This is also a common sign of early gum disease or gingivitis and usually means that bacteria have infected the area around the impacted wisdom tooth.

4. Bad breath

An unfortunate side effect of impacted wisdom teeth is bad breath. The foul odour arises because oral bacteria give off an unpleasant smell that steadily gets worse as the bacteria multiply out of control. If your impacted wisdom tooth has become impacted then, you'll soon begin to notice that your breath smells unpleasant.

5. Bad taste

Along with bad breath, you'll also begin to notice a foul taste in your mouth, especially around the area of the impacted wisdom tooth. This is due to the buildup of bacteria in the area. You can rid yourself of this taste temporarily with oral hygiene, but until the tooth is removed, the problem will remain.

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