Hi CmacLeod3,

Surgical removal of a wisdom tooth means that the tooth is at an odd angle either above or below the gum or it is partially or totally unerupted through the gum tissue. Most wisdom teeth are said to be surgical removals and it is a very common procedure done by oral surgeons.

If the wisdom tooth is difficult to clean because it is far back in the mouth and bacteria is building up there, or the tooth is causing an infection or it is decayed, then the tooth is not serving you any good purpose and should be removed for the betterment of your health. An infection from a wisdom tooth can spread very rapidly and very progressively to other areas of the jawbone, head and neck and it can become very serious. This type of infection can also make a person physically ill.

Root canals are rarely done on wisdom teeth for a couple of reasons. One is the roots are often very curvy and the canal inside of the root can be calcified which means there would be no opening to perform the root canal procedure. Secondly, generally wisdom teeth are not being used to chew with and are only food traps, so they are not important teeth to keep in your mouth.

Just to clarify any misconceptions of what a root canal is....... The roots of the tooth are not removed. A hole in drilled into the biting surface of the tooth and small files are used to go down into the hole and scrape nerve tissue from the inside of the roots. It is not possible to remove all of the nerve, so there is always some non vital nerve tissue remaining inside of the roots.

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Bryanna