I need help with my wisdom teeth

Find out if you might need your wisdom teeth removed

Wisdom tooth pain can make you miserable, but we can solve it for you quickly and comfortably.

How do I know if I have a problem with my wisdom teeth?

Wisdom teeth are your last adult teeth to emerge. They usually come through in your late teens or early twenties, although they can also appear later in life. Wisdom teeth serve no real purpose, and you normally don’t need them to chew your food.

If you have discomfort when chewing on your back molars, or swollen, painful, or bleeding gums in that area, it may be caused by your wisdom teeth. You may also have jaw pain and swelling, bad breath, a nasty taste in your mouth, or difficulty opening your mouth to brush your teeth.

Why do I have a problem with my wisdom teeth?

If you have wisdom tooth pain, you’re not alone – problems are common. It’s very normal for your jaw to be too small to accommodate your wisdom teeth. While wisdom teeth will sometimes emerge without a problem, they can often become impacted, which means they get stuck in your gum. They might be trapped behind your last molar or growing on an angle. The tooth may not emerge fully, or at all.

If your wisdom teeth are impacted, they can cause infections, cysts, and damage to your other teeth. Because wisdom teeth can cause crowding in your mouth and are awkward to brush, they might also lead to decay.

What treatments are available to fix my wisdom teeth?

The best way to deal with problematic wisdom teeth is to remove them. See below for the easy and painless treatments we offer.

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An attractive woman smiles confidently, showing her healthy and strong teeth after a visit to dentist, Dr Dave Richards, of Natural Smile Dental St Heliers, Auckland.
The luxurious, clean, quality Natural Smile Dental clinic in St Heliers, Auckland provides dental and cosmetic services using advanced technology for a stress-free dentist visit.

Common questions about wisdom teeth

  • If your pain is located near the back of your jaw and is accompanied by gum swelling or bleeding behind your last molar, it could be caused by your wisdom teeth. You might also have an earache, headache, or trouble swallowing.

  • Wisdom tooth pain may be distressing and even a little frightening, but don’t worry, it is very normal and common. Your original teeth would have hurt when they came through, too – you just don’t remember it. If your wisdom teeth are bothering you, it’s a good idea to visit us right away so we can check if they are causing problems that need to be treated.

  • You can temporarily numb wisdom tooth pain with over-the-counter pain relief medication, numbing gels, saltwater rinses, or ice packs, but none of these will provide you with a permanent solution. You need to treat the source of the pain to eliminate it – usually by having the wisdom tooth removed.

  • For some people, wisdom tooth pain begins gradually, is intermittent, and gets worse over time. For others, it can appear out of nowhere and be constant from the start. Wisdom teeth that emerge correctly will stop hurting on their own, but if your wisdom teeth are impacted or causing an infection, they will continue to cause pain until they are taken out.

  • The team at Natural Smile is dedicated to making sure our treatments are pain free and you are always comfortable. For wisdom tooth extractions, we will either use a local anaesthetic to numb the area, or we will sedate you so that you are relaxed and sleepy and don’t remember any of the procedure. We’ll discuss your options and decide together which will work best for you.

  • The cost of your wisdom tooth removal will vary depending on the position of the tooth and whether it has caused you any other problems that need to be treated. We’ll let you know in advance exactly how much the procedure will cost and explore the payment options that suit you best.