If you're dealing with a sore, swollen jaw at the back of your mouth, there's a good chance a wisdom tooth is the culprit. Wisdom teeth the third molars that arrive last, usually in the late teens or early twenties often don't have enough room to come through properly. When that happens, they become "impacted," meaning they're trapped against the jawbone, gum, or another tooth. These teeth don't have enough room to come in or develop properly, leading to pain, damage to other teeth and other dental problems.
This guide covers the warning signs of impacted wisdom teeth, how dentists decide when removal is necessary, and what the extraction process actually involves if you're looking into impacted wisdom teeth removal in Perth.
What Does "Impacted" Actually Mean?
Not every wisdom tooth is impacted, and not every impacted tooth needs to come out straight away. Wisdom teeth typically run into trouble in one of three ways:
Fully trapped beneath the gum — wisdom teeth become trapped within the jaw if they can't grow in the usual way, and these are called impacted wisdom teeth. Sometimes this can lead to an infection or cause a cyst that can damage other teeth roots or bone support.
Partially erupted — wisdom teeth that grow only partway through the gums create a pathway for bacteria to get into the gums, because the back of the mouth is hard to see and clean. This can cause gum disease and infection, and these teeth also can get cavities that can't be fixed with fillings and therefore must be removed.
Growing at an angle — pushing sideways into the neighbouring molar rather than growing straight up.
Genuinely impacted wisdom teeth rarely fix themselves. Impacted wisdom teeth rarely resolve on their own, and while symptoms may begin subtly, they can escalate into infections, jaw complications, and damage to surrounding teeth.
Signs and Symptoms of Impacted Wisdom Teeth
Some impacted wisdom teeth cause no symptoms at all and are only picked up on a routine dental X-ray. Impacted wisdom teeth often cause pain at the back of the jaw, swollen gums, bad breath, and infection around a partly erupted tooth, though some impactions cause no symptoms and are found only on routine X-rays. Common wisdom teeth symptoms to watch for include:
Persistent pain or tenderness at the back of the jaw. Consistent pain or discomfort in the back of your mouth is one of the most noticeable indicators, often occurring as wisdom teeth begin to push through the gums, leading to pressure on the surrounding teeth, nerves, and jaw.
Swollen, tender or bleeding gums around the back molars.
Bad breath or a lingering bad taste, which can signal trapped bacteria. Infections can also occur if bacteria become trapped around partially erupted wisdom teeth.
Difficulty opening your mouth fully or jaw stiffness. If you notice that it's becoming difficult to open your mouth fully, or you experience jaw stiffness, this could be a sign that your wisdom teeth are growing in at an angle, affecting the surrounding muscles and tissues.
Headaches or earache-like pain. Other symptoms include a dull ache that radiates to the ear, headaches, and tenderness when chewing.
Crowding or shifting of nearby teeth. If wisdom teeth don't have enough room to grow in properly, they may crowd or damage nearby teeth.
Recurrent gum infections around the same spot. often a condition called pericoronitis. The classic warning sign is pericoronitis, an infection of the gum flap covering a partially erupted molar, producing a red, tender swelling, a bad taste, and sometimes trouble opening the mouth.
If any of these sound familiar, it's worth having a dentist take a look and, if needed, an X-ray to see exactly how your wisdom teeth are positioned.
Do Wisdom Teeth Need to Be Removed?
This is the question most people are really asking and the honest answer is: not always, but often enough that it's worth checking. If your wisdom teeth are impacted but aren't causing any problems, you probably don't need to remove them. However, if you start developing symptoms, removing them can reduce your risk of other issues and improve your overall oral health.
Left untreated, however, problem wisdom teeth rarely stay quiet. If your impacted wisdom teeth are causing pain and other symptoms, leaving them in place can be bad for your oral health impacted wisdom teeth are more prone to infection and abscesses, and they can cause damage, decay and disease to healthy teeth.
Dentists generally weigh up removal based on a few key factors:
Pain, infection or damage. Dentists will recommend taking out a wisdom tooth if it causes a person pain and discomfort or if it damages or could damage the adjacent teeth or jaw bone.
Cysts or cavities that can't be treated. Some dentists recommend removing wisdom teeth if they don't fully grow in.
Whether the tooth is healthy and cleanable. Dentists often leave wisdom teeth alone if they are healthy, fully erupted, and in the appropriate positions and a person can easily clean them.
When to Remove Wisdom Teeth: Does Timing Matter?
Age plays a bigger role than most people realise. Removing impacted wisdom teeth earlier in life tends to be more straightforward. In many instances, taking out wisdom teeth as a young adult generally 15 to 22 years old is safer, easier and requires less recovery than taking out wisdom teeth later in life. This is largely because many oral surgeons recommend removal in late adolescence because roots are not fully formed, making extraction easier and recovery faster.
Waiting for pain to become unbearable isn't the best strategy either. Waiting for severe pain often means infection has already progressed, whereas early consultation allows for planned treatment rather than emergency intervention. If you're a young adult in Perth and haven't had your wisdom teeth checked, it's worth getting an X-ray sooner rather than later even if nothing hurts yet.
What Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removal Involves
Knowing what to expect can take a lot of the anxiety out of the process. A typical wisdom tooth extraction follows a similar pattern:
Assessment and imaging. Your dentist will examine your mouth and take X-rays to map the position, depth and angle of the affected tooth or teeth. The dentist will take an X-ray of the entire mouth to see how the roots lie and how the tooth is growing.
Anaesthetic. The dentist will inject a local anesthetic to numb the tooth and the surrounding area before starting.
Accessing the tooth. If the tooth hasn't fully erupted, the dentist will make an incision in the gums to expose the tooth and bone, then use a dental drill to divide the tooth into sections to make it easier to remove.
Removal and closure. The tooth (or sections of it) is removed, the area is cleaned, and often stitched to support healing.
Aftercare instructions. You'll be given guidance on managing swelling, avoiding dry socket, and easing back into normal eating.
While impacted teeth can be more involved to remove than a straightforward extraction, that doesn't necessarily mean a more painful experience. While impacted wisdom teeth are generally more difficult to remove, the process isn't necessarily more painful, and your dentist or oral surgeon will give you pain relievers to manage any post-operative discomfort.
Recovery time varies from person to person, but most people are back to normal fairly quickly. Most people fully recover from wisdom teeth removal in one to two weeks, and in most cases, you can return to work, school and other normal routines in just a few days.
For a detailed breakdown of exactly what to expect in the days after your procedure including swelling, diet, and pain management read our companion guide: Wisdom Teeth Recovery: What to Expect Day by Day.
You can also learn more about the procedure itself, including how it's typically performed, on our wisdom teeth removal treatment page.
Where to Get Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removed in Perth: Two Rocks Dental Care
If you're in Two Rocks, Yanchep, Eglinton, Alkimos or the surrounding coastal suburbs north of Perth, Two Rocks Dental Care offers in-chair wisdom teeth extraction for patients dealing with impacted or problematic third molars. They provide in-chair Wisdom Teeth Extraction to those people who have problems with their Wisdom Teeth, and the team analyses each person's needs carefully and selects the appropriate treatment options.
Importantly, wisdom teeth can create problems and can be extracted even if they haven't fully erupted so if your tooth hasn't broken through the gum yet but is already causing discomfort, it can still be assessed and treated.
Two Rocks Dental Care is a family-run local practice, and a family-run Dental Practice in Two Rocks that provides dental care services for patients of all ages in Two Rocks, Yanchep, Eglinton, Caraban, Lancelin, Ledge Point, Woodridge, Gabbadah, Breton Bay, Karakin and the Perth area as a whole. The practice aims to keep patients informed and comfortable throughout treatment. They make sure you're comfortable and relaxed with no anxiety, pain or discomfort during your treatment, and take the time to fully explain your treatment plan and the costs involved, so there are no surprises.
You can view clinic details, opening hours and location on the Two Rocks Dental Care clinic profile.
Don't Wait Until It's an Emergency
Impacted wisdom teeth don't tend to improve on their own, and small problems — a bit of gum irritation, a dull ache — can turn into infections, cysts or damage to neighbouring teeth if left unchecked. If you're experiencing any of the symptoms above, or simply want peace of mind about what's happening at the back of your mouth, getting checked sooner gives you more options and an easier recovery.
Ready to get your wisdom teeth assessed? Book an appointment with Two Rocks Dental Care today and find out whether removal is the right next step for you.
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