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Looking for a caring and professional dental practice? We’re excited to welcome new patients to our clinic! Whether you’re due for a check-up, need treatment, or are looking to enhance your smile, our friendly team is here to help.
Contact us today to book your first appointment—we look forward to meeting you!

Wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth are molars which are the last adult teeth to develop in the mouth. Most people have four wisdom teeth at the back of the mouth — 1 in each corner.

They usually start to appear in gums in late teens, early twenties, but it can also be quite common to appear later. By this time, there are already 28 adult teeth in the mouth and so the development of wisdom teeth can often be impacted by restricted space, causing problems as they grow. Wisdom teeth can sometimes emerge at an angle or get stuck and only partially emerge. Teeth that grow through like this are known as impacted.

When to see a Titchfield Dental Health dentist

Impacted wisdom teeth don't always cause symptoms. However, when an impacted wisdom tooth becomes infected, damages other teeth or causes other dental problems, you may experience some of these signs or symptoms:

Red or swollen gums
Tender or bleeding gums
Jaw pain
Swelling around the jaw
Bad breath
An unpleasant taste in your mouth
Difficulty opening your mouth

As with any teeth problems, if you are experiencing any of these symptoms it's important to book an appointment at Titchfield Dental Health to see a dentist as soon as possible, rather than waiting for routine dental health review.

What can I do to help relieve the discomfort of wisdom teeth?

A mouthwash of medium-hot water with a teaspoonful of salt will help to reduce gum soreness and inflammation. Swish the salt water around the tooth, trying to get into the areas your toothbrush cannot reach. Do this several times a day.

An antibacterial mouthwash containing chlorhexidine can also reduce the inflammation. Pain-relieving tablets such as paracetamol or ibuprofen can also be useful in the short term, but talk to us at Titchfield Dental Health if the pain continues.

Why are wisdom teeth removed?

If your wisdom teeth are impacted but not causing any problems, you don't usually need to be remove them. This is because there's no proven benefit of doing this and it carries the risk of complications.

Sometimes, wisdom teeth that have become impacted or haven't fully broken through the surface of the gum can cause dental problems. Food and bacteria can get trapped around the edge of the wisdom teeth, causing a build-up of plaque, which can lead to several problems in the mouth:

  • Damage to other teeth. If the wisdom tooth pushes against the second molar, it may damage the second molar or increase the risk of infection in that area. This pressure can also cause problems with crowding of the other teeth or require orthodontic treatment to straighten other teeth.
  • Cysts. The wisdom tooth develops in a sac within the jawbone. The sac can fill with fluid, forming a cyst that can damage the jawbone, teeth and nerves.
  • Decay. Partially impacted wisdom teeth appear to be at higher risk of tooth decay than other teeth. This probably occurs because wisdom teeth are harder to clean and because food and bacteria get easily trapped between the gum and a partially erupted tooth.
  • Gum disease. The difficulty cleaning impacted, partially erupted wisdom teeth increases the risk of developing a painful, inflammatory gum disease in that area.

Many of these problems can be treated with antibiotics, antiseptic mouthwash and a good oral hygiene regime.

Wisdom teeth removal is very common, but usually only recommended when other treatments haven't worked.

How are wisdom teeth removed?

If your Titchfield Dental Health dentist recommends removing your wisdom teeth, they'll take an X-ray of your mouth to help them determine who should carry out the procedure. Your dentist may remove your wisdom teeth, or they may refer you to a specialist surgeon for hospital treatment.

Before the operation, we’ll fully explain the procedure to you.

A local anaesthetic injection is usually given to numb the area around the tooth. You'll feel some pressure just before the tooth is removed, as your dentist or oral surgeon needs to widen the tooth socket by rocking the tooth back and forth.

A small cut in the gum is sometimes necessary, and the tooth may need to be cut into smaller pieces before it's removed.

It takes anything from a few minutes to 20 minutes, or sometimes even longer, to remove a wisdom tooth.

After your wisdom teeth have been removed, you may have swelling and discomfort, both inside and outside your mouth. Occasionally, some mild bruising is also visible. This is usually improves after 3 days, but it can take up to 2 weeks. If this continues for longer, or progresses, please get in touch with the team at Titchfield Dental Health as soon as possible.

Prevention

You can't keep an impaction from occurring but keeping your regular dental appointments for cleaning and reviews enables your dentist to monitor the growth and emergence of your wisdom teeth. Regularly updated dental X-rays may indicate impacted wisdom teeth before any symptoms develop.

If you have any concerns about your wisdom teeth, or are experiencing any pain, give us a call on 01489 581158.

Patient Reviews

People are talking about us

The biggest complement we receive is when our patients refer their friends and family to Titchfield Dental Health. In fact, we have built much of our practice on these valued, trusted recommendations over the years. Read our reviews to hear why our patients are recommending us…

Patient reviews

799 Reviews

5.0
GG

Graham Robert Gibbs

A very professional team to look after your teeth

GZ

George Zenin

Lovely dentist. Quick service.

12th July 2025

Pleasant, friendly staff, excellent quality of care and advice on future needs.

LA

Lynne Anderson

Great service. I hate having my teeth cleaned but Linda is so patient, kind and empathetic. She does a brilliant job! Highly recommend

9th July 2025

My previous experience at another dental surgery was terrible. Titchfield practice is top class

9th July 2025

All staff very friendly. Clean environment, highly recommend.

5th July 2025

Listened to my needsOffered and delivered plan of careAll staff professional polite and helpfulwrt q about recommending to friend/family I wouldn’t offer unsolicited recommendation

5th July 2025

Ruth the hygienist always explains what she is going to do and checks i am comfortable during the procedure so the appointment is very relaxed

5th July 2025

Excellent service as always by everyone

5th July 2025

I needed an emergency appointment which was arranged over the phone at short notice. The treatment was thorough and all staff involved professional and kind

5th July 2025

Excellent professional team

4th July 2025

Everyone make you feel welcome and are very friendly. All staff put you at ease. I have been attending Titchfield for a long time now and it’s like seeing old friends when I go.

4th July 2025

Staff are always so friendly. Knowing I’m a very nervous patient they are always happy to adapt working styles to help keep me calm

3rd July 2025

Ruth is so caring and professional. She apologised that she could not use the air flow because of the fire. Given that she and all the staff are working with building/ repairs going on they were all brilliant

LS

Liz Smart

I have only been twice so far, but I wanted to review on first experience. I am a very nervous patient and my fear has made me unable to have any treatment done for years. As soon as I made the call to book an appointment I knew it was the right decision. All the staff have been kind and helpful. Anya has the ability to put even the most nervous of people at ease. She is a real gem. She made me like I mattered and was being listened to. Definitely going back for more treatment

26th June 2025

All of the team are so lovely and friendly. Everything is always very well explained and they do everything possible to make you feel at ease

26th June 2025

Ruth was brilliant as usual and realised how hard I have worked on my dental hygiene. I had broken a temporary Ceric and Manos fitted me in to repair as he listened when I explained I did not want to loose the tooth but it was not a good time for me to have this treatment done . Top marks everyone Thankyou

19th June 2025

Professional approach from all concerned. Friendly and clean environment.

15th June 2025

The practice is consistently excellent. Professional, Caring and Friendly.

SW

Semi-retired of Warsash

Being somebody who has had a dental surgery phobia since childhood I was not looking forward to having a large molar crowned due to cracking. I shouldn't have worried as the whole process was completed by Anya over 2 sessions within 3 hours with no pain whatsoever. No waiting for weeks for the crown to be made as they do it in-house. Even the injections were painless ...

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