Wisdom teeth pain: What causes wisdom tooth pain
Reading time: 5 mins
Wisdom teeth are known for being tricky. From the teething pain as they grow to potential complications once they’ve poked through your gums, adding four extra teeth to your jaw isn’t always a seamless process. Thankfully, wisdom teeth pain doesn’t have to last forever. With the right dental care and at-home oral hygiene, you can get to the root of what’s causing your pains and tackle aches with ease. This all starts with the right knowledge. Learning why you’re experiencing wisdom tooth gum pain and what to do if your wisdom teeth hurt is a must for proper dental care. Ready to get started? Let’s take a look.
What are wisdom teeth?
Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to come through in your mouth, usually appearing between your late teens and your early twenties (though don’t worry if they’re a little late).Unlike the rest of your adult teeth, they don’t replace baby teeth. Instead, they break straight through the gum and add four new molars to your jaw. These teeth are tough, and wide, and help you grind up your food, but they can also cause a few problems when they arrive at the back of your mouth.
Why does my wisdom tooth hurt?
If your wisdom tooth hurts while breaking through the gum, the first thing to know is that this is completely normal. The eruption through the gum is just like teething as a baby, and there’s a reason why that causes a few tears! If the area around your new wisdom tooth feels achy and sensitive as the tooth emerges, it’s not necessarily a cause for concern. Wisdom teeth pain that continues after the tooth has emerged, though, is something to pay close attention to. As dietary habits have changed over the last few centuries, our jaws have gotten smaller1, leading to a rise in issues as 28 teeth become 32. Severe wisdom tooth pain is often caused by an impacted wisdom tooth, where the new tooth isn’t able to fully come through the gum due to a lack of space. This creates a partially erupted tooth, which is half-hidden by the gum and often comes through at an odd angle. In some circumstances, the impacted tooth doesn’t cause a problem and can stay in your mouth pain-free. But, for many people, a half-erupted tooth leads to pain, gum swelling by the wisdom tooth, and possible infections.4 If you’re wondering ‘Why does my wisdom tooth hurt?’ once it’s fully emerged, it could be the sign of another, less visible issue. For the causes of toothache, it’s always best to visit your dentist.
Wisdom teeth pain: common symptoms
What causes wisdom tooth pain? To learn more about the issue behind your aching gums, let’s take a look at some common symptoms of different problems.
When there’s an issue, the pain is often more intense and longer-lasting than normal teething pains. It can be recurrent, too, coming back year after year until you get the issue fixed. When your wisdom tooth hurts, common symptoms that it’s impacted include:
A new wisdom tooth and gum pain go hand-in-hand. But, by being aware of these more serious symptoms, you can catch any problems earlier and seek treatment before the pain becomes worse.
What to do for a wisdom toothache
‘My wisdom teeth hurt and I don’t know why - help!’ This is a really common problem and one best left to the professionals. An experienced dentist will be able to quickly identify if something’s wrong and recommend the correct treatment for your case, helping you maintain healthy teeth for years to come. If the issue is severe, after seeking immediate professional help you may need a wisdom tooth extraction.
There are ways you can ease the pain of normal teething at home, too. Here’s what to do for a wisdom toothache:
Recommended products
-
ProtectiveClean 4300
Black
HX6800/44
- Built-in pressure sensor
- 1 cleaning mode
- 1 x BrushSync feature
-
- Up to 20x more plaque removal
- Up to 15 x healthier gums
- Up to 100% whiter teeth
- Soft Bristle
- Compatible with all Sonicare handles except Philips One and Kids
£29.99* -
- Up to 10x more plaque removal
- Up to 5x healthier gums
- Ultra Soft Bristle
- Compatible with all Sonicare handles except Philips One and Kids
- 70% bio-based plastic*
-
- Up to 10x more plaque removal
- Up to 7x healthier gums
- Medium Soft Bristle
- Compatible with all Sonicare handles except Philips One and Kids
£29.99*
My wisdom teeth hurt: ease the pain and avoid infection
If you’re wondering what to do for a wisdom toothache while you’re waiting for a dentist appointment, there are ways you can manage the problem at home. After brushing, clean between your teeth using a power flosser to remove trapped food. If needed, finish by gargling a medical mouthwash – like those which contain chlorhexidine - to reduce the chance of infection.6 Always consult the label and ensure you’re not allergic to any ingredients.
The first is by making a few adjustments to your diet. Anyone struggling with an impacted wisdom tooth will know it can hurt your teeth when you chew. Make this easier on sore gums by avoiding hard foods, like bread with a tough crust, or anything overly chewy, like sweets. Instead, stick to softer foods that require less chewing, like soups, scrambled eggs, and bananas.
If you have gum swelling by wisdom tooth eruption, you can help tackle the inflammation with anti-inflammatory foods and drinks. These include green tea, tomatoes, and dark leafy greens, like spinach and kale.3
For wisdom tooth pain at night, try to keep your head elevated with an extra pillow. You can also take pain-relieving medication (avoid any medication containing caffeine) and gargle salt water before you sleep to ease pain throughout the night.
Whether you’re struggling with an impacted tooth, teething pains, or gum inflammation, you can also manage the problem between dental care with good oral hygiene. This is a must for preventing food from becoming trapped between the wisdom tooth and the gum as well as stopping infections.
Maintain a good dental routine by brushing your teeth properly twice a day with an electric toothbrush, like the Philips ProtectiveClean 4300 which has an in-built pressure sensor to ensure you don’t brush too hard on sore gums.
You should also choose a Brush Head that caters to your needs. When you have a new wisdom tooth, the best options include:
Prevent severe wisdom tooth pain with dental check-ups
After learning what causes wisdom tooth pain and what to do if your wisdom teeth hurt, you’re in a better position to care for problematic teeth. But, if you’ve ever experienced wisdom tooth pain at night, you’ll know it’s something you don’t want to repeat! That’s why it’s crucial you continue with regular dental check-ups to monitor the development of your wisdom teeth. With professional care, you can pre-empt any issues and keep pain, inflammation, and infection a thing of the past. Sources: 1 The Jaw Epidemic, National Library of Medicine
2 Wisdom Tooth Removal Recovery, NHS
3 Foods You Should Eat to Help Fight Inflammation, Harvard Health Publishing
4 Wisdom tooth removal, NHS Inform
5 How to manage dental pain?, NHS Wirral Community Health and Care
6 Chlorhexidine, NHS
