Surgery Overview
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon or your dentist can remove (extract) a wisdom tooth.

Before removing a wisdom tooth, your dentist will give you a local anesthetic to numb the area where the tooth will be removed. A stronger, general anesthetic may be used, especially if several or all of your wisdom teeth will be removed at the same time. A general anesthetic prevents pain in the whole body and will make you groggy or cause you to sleep through the procedure.

After the tooth are removed, you may need stitches. A cotton gauze pad placed over the wound will help stop the bleeding.

What To Expect After Surgery
In most cases, the recovery period only lasts a few days. Take painkillers as prescribed by your dentist or oral surgeon. The following tips will help speed your recovery.

Rinse your mouth with warm salt water several times a day to reduce swelling and relieve pain.
Change gauze pads before they become soaked with blood.
Relax after surgery. Physical activity may increase bleeding.
Eat soft foods, such as gelatin, pudding, or a thin soup. Gradually add solid foods to your diet as healing progresses.
Do not lie flat. This may prolong bleeding. Prop up your head with pillows.
Avoid rubbing the area with your tongue.
Continue to brush your teeth and tongue carefully.
Your dentist will remove the stitches after a few days.

Why It Is Done
A wisdom tooth is extracted to correct an actual or potential problem. When wisdom teeth come in, a number of problems can occur:

Your jaw may not be large enough to accommodate them, and they may become impacted and unable to break through your gums. This happens in about 20% of people.
Your wisdom teeth may break partway through your gums, causing a flap of gum tissue to grow over them. Food can become trapped under the flap and cause your gums to become red, swollen, and painful.
More serious problems can develop from impacted teeth, such as infection, damage to other teeth and bone, or the development of a cyst.
One or more of your wisdom teeth may come in at an awkward angle, with the top of the tooth facing forward, backward, or to either side.

How Well It Works
Wisdom tooth removal usually is effective in preventing:

Crowding of the back teeth.
A wisdom tooth becoming stuck in the jaw (impacted) and never breaking through the gums.
Red, swollen, and painful gums caused by a flap of skin around a wisdom tooth that has only partially come in.
Gum disease and tooth decay in the wisdom teeth, which may be harder to clean than other teeth.

Risks
After a wisdom tooth is removed, you may experience:

Pain and swelling in your gums and tooth socket where the tooth was removed.
Bleeding that won't stop.
Difficulty with or pain from opening your jaw (trismus).
Slow-healing gums.
Damage to existing dental work, such as crowns or bridges, or to roots of a nearby tooth.
A painful inflammation called dry socket.
Numbness in your mouth and lips after the local anesthetic wears off, due to injury or inflammation of nerves in the jaw. Numbness will usually go away, but in rare cases it may be permanent.
Dental surgery may cause bacteria in the mouth to enter the bloodstream and cause infections in other parts of the body. People who have difficulty fighting off infections may need to take antibiotics before and after dental surgery. This includes those who:

Have damaged or artificial heart valves.
Were born with heart defects.
Have an impaired immune system.
Have liver disease (cirrhosis).
Have artificial joints, such as a hip replacement.
Have endocarditis.
Anesthetic (local and/or general) almost always is used during the extraction procedure. All surgeries, including oral surgery, that use general anesthetic have a small risk of death or other complications.

What To Think About
If your wisdom teeth are not causing problems, it may be difficult to decide whether to have your wisdom teeth removed to prevent possible dental problems later in life. Consider the following:

You may never have any problems with your wisdom teeth.
It isn't harmful to your health to have your wisdom teeth removed, but there are slight risks involved with any surgery. Most problems with wisdom teeth develop between the ages of 15 and 25.

If you are older than age 30, you have only a small risk of developing problems with your wisdom teeth. Few people older than 30 develop problems that require removal of their wisdom teeth.
Medical insurance may cover this procedure. If you do not have insurance, it may be less expensive for you to wait until you have insurance.

If you have a medical condition that may get worse over time, having your wisdom teeth removed while you are healthy and before the teeth cause problems may be worthwhile.