Pericoronitis is the inflammation and infection of the tissue surrounding the crowns of your teeth. It can be caused by an infection in the gums or by food impaction, like when food gets trapped between your teeth, becomes infected, and spreads to your gum tissue. Pericoronitis removal isn’t always necessary, but if left untreated it can lead to more serious health complications in your mouth and elsewhere in your body.
What is pericoronitis?
Pericoronitis is an infection in your gum tissue caused by food particles becoming lodged between your teeth and gum. The infection can quickly spread, leading to a painful abscess on your gums and even oral ulcers. It’s important that you get prompt treatment for pericoronitis, because it can be quite painful—not to mention damaging if left untreated. With proper care, however, you should recover in a few days or weeks (at most).
Here are a few things you need to know about pericoronitis removal The Process of Getting Rid of Pericoronitis: Your dentist will use either laser technology or manual scaling to remove any inflamed gum tissue. Laser technology may sound like something out of Star Trek, but it works by using high-intensity light waves to destroy infected cells. Manual scaling involves using sharp instruments to remove affected areas of gum tissue. Once your dentist has removed all inflamed areas, he’ll clean out any debris and suture your gums closed with tiny stitches called sutures. Sutures dissolve over time; as they do so, they pull together torn skin around wound sites and promote healing through scarring.
Causes of pericoronitis
Usually, pericoronitis is caused by food getting stuck between a wisdom tooth and your gum. Wisdom teeth are called such because they’re more likely to cause problems than other teeth. That’s why wisdom tooth removal is common, but sometimes problems with wisdom teeth aren’t caused by anything wrong with them; instead, they’re often caused by pericoronitis—inflamed gum tissue surrounding a wisdom tooth. Tooth decay or even bacteria buildup in between a wisdom tooth and gum can cause pericoronitis; most often, it occurs when there’s insufficient space for that extra tooth. If left untreated, it can lead to an infection in your jawbone or even loss of bone tissue around your mouth.
Symptoms of pericoronitis
The key symptom of pericoronitis is pain in your mouth. That pain occurs where there are impacted teeth, especially when you eat or drink hot or cold food and beverages. The pain can also make it hard for you to chew, talk, smile and/or open your mouth normally. You may even have a hard time taking a deep breath because of how inflamed your soft tissue is. Sometimes, pus drains from inside impacted wisdom teeth into your mouth; when that happens, you’ll probably develop an infection as well. Along with all these symptoms, people with pericoronitis often have swelling and tenderness in their cheeks where they have impacted wisdom teeth lodged under their gums. They might also experience some discoloration around those areas. If left untreated, pericoronitis can cause abscesses and permanent damage to your jawbone.
When to visit the dentist
Waiting too long before visiting your dentist can be dangerous. If left untreated, pericoronitis can lead to infections, including abscesses. An early diagnosis by your dentist and treatment plan is essential for successful pericoronitis removal and pain management. Check out our informative guide on symptoms, causes, and how it’s treated in order to prevent future complications from occurring. Here’s what you need to know
Treatment options
Dentists are trained in providing treatment for pericoronitis. The first step is an appointment to examine your mouth and determine how advanced your infection is. If you are suffering from a severe case, you might need emergency surgery at an oral surgeon’s office. However, most cases can be handled with oral antibiotics prescribed by your dentist. While it can be tempting to try and treat yourself, it’s better to play it safe when removing infections in such a sensitive area of your body. If you have any questions about pericoronitis removal or feel like something isn’t right after treatment, contact your dentist immediately for help.
Contact a dentist if you are experiencing pain
Pericoronitis is an infection that affects your gums. This infection, which is common among people who have been treated for a wisdom tooth extraction, causes pain and swelling in or around your gums and can make it difficult to eat or swallow. Since pericoronitis commonly occurs around your recently extracted wisdom teeth, you’ll probably want to call your dentist if you experience any pain following a tooth extraction. Left untreated, pericoronitis can cause more serious health issues; as such, we strongly recommend calling our office right away if you experience symptoms.