What Is an Impacted Tooth?

When a tooth is impacted, that means it has failed to pass through the gums and fully into place. This causes soreness, headaches and other symptoms, and could cause the bite to align incorrectly.

Identification

• An impacted tooth is any tooth that either fails to emerge from the gums or emerges from the gums only partially. Any tooth can be impacted, but the most common impacted teeth are the wisdom teeth.

Treatment

• Removal is the most common treatment for impacted teeth, but it's not always necessary. The dentist will decide whether the tooth is causing or will cause problems, and may remove the tooth or refer the patient to an oral surgeon.

Significance

• Teeth sometimes become impacted because there's nowhere for them to go. For example, the jaw may be too small to accommodate wisdom teeth, so they remain in the gums. Teeth also become impacted when they are turned around, displaced or tilted as they emerge from the gums.

Effects

• Impacted teeth can push on adjacent teeth, which causes misalignment of the bite. Food or other matter can become trapped in an impacted tooth, causing inflammation of the gums and bad breath.

Time Frame

• Because impacted teeth can cause problems such as gum infection, it is important to diagnose and treat them during childhood and adolescence. Dentists can diagnose impacted teeth through regular checkups and X-rays.