Definition
A dental disorder involving failure of a
tooth to fully emerge through the gums.
Alternative names
Tooth - unemerged; Unemerged
tooth; Dental impaction
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Teeth emerge
through the gums during infancy and when the primary (baby)
teeth are replaced by the permanent teeth. If a tooth fails to
emerge, or emerges only partially, it is impacted. Because
they are the last teeth to emerge, the most common teeth to
become impacted are the wisdom teeth (the third set of
molars), which normally emerge between 17 and 21 years
old.
An impacted tooth remains embedded in soft gingiva
(gum) tissue or bone beyond its normal eruption time. The
cause may be overcrowding, often because the jaw is too small
to fit the third set of molars. Teeth may also become twisted,
tilted, or displaced as they try to emerge, resulting in
impacted teeth.
Impacted wisdom teeth are very common.
They are often painless and cause no trouble; however, in some
cases some school sof thought feel the impacted tooth pushes
on the next tooth and causes it to become misaligned,
eventually causing the bite to become shifted. A partially
emerged tooth can trap food, plaque, and other debris in the
soft tissue around it; leading to inflammation and tenderness
of the gums and unpleasant mouth odor. This is called
pericoronitis.
Prevention
There is no known prevention.
Symptoms
- pain or tenderness of the gums (gingiva) or jaw bone
- unpleasant taste when biting down on or near the area
- visible gap where a tooth did not emerge
- bad
breath
- redness and swelling
of the gums around the impacted tooth
- swollen
lymph nodes of the neck (occasionally)
- difficulty opening the mouth (occasionally)
- prolonged headache
or jaw ache
Signs and tests
Examination of the teeth by the
dentist may show enlargement of the tissue over the area where
a tooth has not emerged, or has emerged only partially. The
impacted tooth may be pressing on adjacent teeth. The gums
around the area may show signs of infection (such as redness,
drainage, and tenderness). As gums swell over impacted wisdom
teeth and then drain and tighten, it may feel like the tooth
came in and then went back down again.
Dental
X-rays confirm the presence of a tooth (or teeth) that has
not emerged.
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