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Looking for a caring and professional dental practice? We’re excited to welcome new patients to our clinic! Whether you’re due for a check-up, need treatment, or are looking to enhance your smile, our friendly team is here to help.
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Wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth are molars which are the last adult teeth to develop in the mouth. Most people have four wisdom teeth at the back of the mouth — 1 in each corner.

They usually start to appear in gums in late teens, early twenties, but it can also be quite common to appear later. By this time, there are already 28 adult teeth in the mouth and so the development of wisdom teeth can often be impacted by restricted space, causing problems as they grow. Wisdom teeth can sometimes emerge at an angle or get stuck and only partially emerge. Teeth that grow through like this are known as impacted.

When to see a Sturminster Dental Care dentist

Impacted wisdom teeth don't always cause symptoms. However, when an impacted wisdom tooth becomes infected, damages other teeth or causes other dental problems, you may experience some of these signs or symptoms:

Red or swollen gums
Tender or bleeding gums
Jaw pain
Swelling around the jaw
Bad breath
An unpleasant taste in your mouth
Difficulty opening your mouth

As with any teeth problems, if you are experiencing any of these symptoms it's important to book an appointment at Sturminster Dental Care to see a dentist as soon as possible, rather than waiting for routine dental health review.

What can I do to help relieve the discomfort of wisdom teeth?

A mouthwash of medium-hot water with a teaspoonful of salt will help to reduce gum soreness and inflammation. Swish the salt water around the tooth, trying to get into the areas your toothbrush cannot reach. Do this several times a day.

An antibacterial mouthwash containing chlorhexidine can also reduce the inflammation. Pain-relieving tablets such as paracetamol or ibuprofen can also be useful in the short term, but talk to us at Sturminster Dental Care if the pain continues.

Why are wisdom teeth removed?

If your wisdom teeth are impacted but not causing any problems, you don't usually need to be remove them. This is because there's no proven benefit of doing this and it carries the risk of complications.

Sometimes, wisdom teeth that have become impacted or haven't fully broken through the surface of the gum can cause dental problems. Food and bacteria can get trapped around the edge of the wisdom teeth, causing a build-up of plaque, which can lead to several problems in the mouth:

  • Damage to other teeth. If the wisdom tooth pushes against the second molar, it may damage the second molar or increase the risk of infection in that area. This pressure can also cause problems with crowding of the other teeth or require orthodontic treatment to straighten other teeth.
  • Cysts. The wisdom tooth develops in a sac within the jawbone. The sac can fill with fluid, forming a cyst that can damage the jawbone, teeth and nerves.
  • Decay. Partially impacted wisdom teeth appear to be at higher risk of tooth decay than other teeth. This probably occurs because wisdom teeth are harder to clean and because food and bacteria get easily trapped between the gum and a partially erupted tooth.
  • Gum disease. The difficulty cleaning impacted, partially erupted wisdom teeth increases the risk of developing a painful, inflammatory gum disease in that area.

Many of these problems can be treated with antibiotics, antiseptic mouthwash and a good oral hygiene regime.

Wisdom teeth removal is very common, but usually only recommended when other treatments haven't worked.

How are wisdom teeth removed?

If your Sturminster Dental Care dentist recommends removing your wisdom teeth, they'll take an X-ray of your mouth to help them determine who should carry out the procedure. Your dentist may remove your wisdom teeth, or they may refer you to a specialist surgeon for hospital treatment.

Before the operation, we’ll fully explain the procedure to you.

A local anaesthetic injection is usually given to numb the area around the tooth. You'll feel some pressure just before the tooth is removed, as your dentist or oral surgeon needs to widen the tooth socket by rocking the tooth back and forth.

A small cut in the gum is sometimes necessary, and the tooth may need to be cut into smaller pieces before it's removed.

It takes anything from a few minutes to 20 minutes, or sometimes even longer, to remove a wisdom tooth.

After your wisdom teeth have been removed, you may have swelling and discomfort, both inside and outside your mouth. Occasionally, some mild bruising is also visible. This is usually improves after 3 days, but it can take up to 2 weeks. If this continues for longer, or progresses, please get in touch with the team at Sturminster Dental Care as soon as possible.

Prevention

You can't keep an impaction from occurring but keeping your regular dental appointments for cleaning and reviews enables your dentist to monitor the growth and emergence of your wisdom teeth. Regularly updated dental X-rays may indicate impacted wisdom teeth before any symptoms develop.

If you have any concerns about your wisdom teeth, or are experiencing any pain, give us a call on 01258 473397.

Dentist

Ian Mercer

Ian joined {{ practice_name() }} in January 2016. lan-qualified from Guys Hospital Dental School in 1991 and has spent much of his professional career in the Royal Army Dental Corps including operational commitments in many countries. lan left the army in 2012 after serving for 21 years. Ian is really enjoying being part of the team and providing the best care to all of our patients.

Ian Mercer
Patient Reviews

People are talking about us

The biggest complement we receive is when our patients refer their friends and family to Sturminster Dental Care. In fact, we have built much of our practice on these valued, trusted recommendations over the years. Read our reviews to hear why our patients are recommending us…

Patient reviews

693 Reviews

5.0

29th August 2025

Professional and friendly and respectful manner of all staff.

29th August 2025

Clinician is lovely and the reception staff are so friendly, polite and professional

29th August 2025

Friendly helpful staff, everything explained clearly, feel confident with everything there

28th August 2025

The friendliness and courtesy of the personel. I am a nervous patient and my dentist always talks to me in a relaxed and reassuring manner.

28th August 2025

Everything completed by competent and knowledgeable staff. Up to date with IT and dental practices. Everyone is welcoming, smiles and able to speak intelligible English. Thank you.

27th August 2025

All the staff from reception through to the hygienist, nurses and dentists are always welcoming and helpful . The level of care is excellent and everything is always explained.

27th August 2025

First of all, the reception staff are always pleasant and polite, and deal with you as soon as they can- sometimes the surgery is busy!Secondly, the clinician always shows proper old-fashioned courtesies when greeting you and saying goodbye after a consultation. He explains what treatment he is going to do with any possible outcomes, and always puts my mind at ease. A thoroughly easy and pleasant experience, regardless of what treatment is being performed. I have complete confidence in my dentist- and I'm sure the same can be said for all the clinicians at the practice.

27th August 2025

A problem with a previous treatment with a different dentist in the practice was sorted quickly and efficiently and more importantly cheaper than I thought it would be.

27th August 2025

I left a message on the contact form to say I had lost a crown over a bank holiday weekend. I was called early on the Tuesday and by 8.30 I had an appointment that same day. I was seen by Emmanuel, who was fabulous, explained everything clearly to a 60 year old women who hates the dentist! He and his assistant put me at ease and were fabulous. I cannot recommend highly enough. My crown was reseated and hopefully will stay in place.

24th August 2025

All staff are professional but very friendly and make you welcome. They make an effort to show they care.

23rd August 2025

Overall a good visit.

22nd August 2025

everyone is kind and friendly

21st August 2025

reception staff always friendly, warm and professional.Ian and Helen make me feel at ease and very friendly

21st August 2025

It’s close to home with pleasant, thorough, reassuring dentist & hygienist and effective treatment.

20th August 2025

Everyone was timely, courteous and professional

18th August 2025

The dentist took into account my fears and helped to alleviate some of my concerns

18th August 2025

All of the people who work there are exceptionally kind and caring putting me totally at ease. They really care about my experience with them.

13th August 2025

Staff always friendly and smiling, hygienist and dental nurse very attentive to make sure I was comfortable.

13th August 2025

Friendly highly professional staff with focus on detail. A very minor issue is that there are experienced dental professionals nearing retirement so the patient cannot always see the same clinician every time for continuity. This is okay as the standards are high and record keeping, from my experiences, good.

9th August 2025

Always given great advice, often with options, which makes me feel I have agency, a rarity in most dental care.

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