Dental Emergencies: Wisdom Tooth Pain

If your wisdom teeth are not giving you any problems, it is not a dental emergency. Just make an appointment to be examined and determine if they need to be removed. On the other hand, if your wisdom teeth are painful or the gums around them are swollen, this is considered a dental emergency.

One of the signs that your wisdom teeth are impacted is inflammation and/or discomfort around the tooth. When they don’t fully erupt, food and bacteria can get trapped between the tooth and the gum, which causes discomfort- or pericoronitis. If not treated properly in a timely manner, it may become infected, which can be dangerous and in rare instances life-threatening.

After you have made an appointment with the dentist to have your wisdom teeth taken care of, there are some things you can do in the meantime to relieve the pain: