Can a regular dentist remove wisdom teeth?

Wisdom teeth, the last to grow in your mouth. If you are lucky enough, they come out without much fuss or discomfort. However, for some people, large discomfort and pain arise when these final teeth start pushing through the gums.

At this point, most patients get anxious at the thought of having their wisdom teeth extracted. Questions like “Can my regular dentist remove it,” “Do I need to go to an oral surgeon” pop up more often than not.

So let’s explore what options are available?

What Are Wisdom Teeth?

Before we answer that question let us get into what exactly are wisdom teeth?

The average person has four wisdom teeth. These third molars usually develop and emerge in late adolescence or early adulthood (ages 17-25). For many folks – but certainly not all – they can cause problems such as:

  • Crowding around other teeth
  • Angle away from adjacent molars
  • Infection
  • Cyst formation

Therefore if they cause a significant problem then you might want them extracted.

So Who Should Extract Your Wisdom Teeth?

Let me introduce our cast:
your ordinary general practitioner – your General Practitioner,
your oral care specialist – Oral Surgeon,
and now meet one trained somewhere in between: The General Dentist!

Some dentists offer extractions of wisdom tooth as part of their services whiles others do refer patients needing extraction surgeries to be done by an Oral Surgeon/Maxillofacial Surgeon who is trained specifically for complex extraction procedures.

In summary

Type of Tooth Extraction Professional
Simple Extractions
Extractions with local anesthesia
General Dentists
Complex Extractions
Should require sedation
Impacted due to bad orientation
Sinus issues/touching nerves/Vascular involvement/Infection/Cyst needed to be removed
Oral Surgeons or Maxillofacial Surgeon

Can a General Dentist Extract A Wisdom Tooth?

Yes. As mentioned earlier, some general dentists do offer extraction procedures as part of their services. It’s just that they can only do certain types: Simple Extractions without local anesthesia.

If your wisdom teeth are causing you pain and emergency extraction is necessary, then your dentist might provide the treatment since he is accessible at that point than most oral surgeons but when it becomes complex, like if there’s impaction due to bad orientation and there’s an involvement requiring sedation an Oral surgeon or maxillofacial surgeon should perform the procedure.

It would help if you were transparent with which kind of professional backups up these decisions best suited for what type of performance so inquire from each level whichever answers will quell your doubts.

If complications arise during any simple extractions then don’t hesitate to report back to your dentist immediately.

Furthermore, not every individual even those who have healthy teeth require tooth removals for instances such as:

  • Teeth vital towards biting/chewing
  • Uncompromised sockets

Under advisement by their respective dental specialist some surgeries are automatically excluded including more drastic options such as full mouth replacements (crowns) implants, Bridges etc.


Bridges – A dental restoration frequently used in cosmetic dentistry entails covering gaps between teeth using two capped anchoring the remaining teeth and synthetic tooth material completes said bridge.


When Do You Need An Oral Surgeon To Remove Your Wisdom Teeth?

There’s no one-word answer for this question depends on several conditions different ways though let us simplify things based on three main pointers:

1. Positioning & Orientation

The position at which the wisdom surrounded by bone tissue has grown determines how challenging it proves while under surgery; some may require intricate malleting to be removed finally resulting in lower than normal morbidity rate.

2. The Number of Teeth To Be Extracted

The average General dentist does extract one or two teeth from time to time, but as the number increases so do the level of complexity required.

Paying a visit oral surgeon is usually recommended when several tooth extractions are needed.

3. Medical Needs Of Patients

Pre-existing conditions that require specialized attention such as:

  • Kidney transplant patients
  • Hemophilia sufferers

Are more likely advised to seek out an oral surgeon with a more experienced team backing them.

Who Is An Oral Surgeon?

So who exactly is this Fairy Godmother saving your wisdom tooth extraction day? As they sound, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons have operated for years dedicating their entire specialization entirely towards restructuring everything within the human being’s “Oral & Maxillofacial” region-specifically focusing on tissues surrounding and inside both regions- including services like these:

  1. Corrective Jaw Surgeries TO Fix Minor/ Major Facial Imbalances
  2. Soft And Hard Tissue Grafts-
    Extra weighty due to underlying sensitive nature of Oral/Towards varying Gums/Bone reduction areas mostly done after implantation surgery.
    3.Teeth-only Extraditions Done Under Sedation
    4.Wisdom Tooth Extractions

These professionals face four additional yearsmedical training specialising specifically in this area following basic Dental Training earned at undergraduate levelsbefore completing continual postgraduate education under formal accreditation boards`.


Hey(whips out) did you know certification bodies existed solely for every professional specialty?

What Happens In A Wisdom Tooth Extraction Procedure with An Oral Surgeon?

Based on patient needs certain procedures will vary but here are some common stages except:
Heading should follow previous Row even if left empty otherwise would end up counting words in subsequent rows wasting everyone’s time so never do that.
The major steps include:

  1. General examination and consultation
  2. This is a summary of your specific scenario like X-rays close inspections, questions about ailments past treatment history.

  3. The Method Of Sedation To Be Used
    Here the doctor points out which works best for you either after judging from pre-existing conditions undergoing procedures or the patient’s preference.

3.Surgery Time
For an average removal surgery, it takes approximately 20 minutes but be prepared to stay at least a couple more hours as preliminary check-ups may have taken place before procedure/ Recovery room in isolation- also rest assured informed throughout

4.Anesthetic Procedure And Wisdom Tooth Extraction

5.Post-Operative Recovery

The number of days required exclusively in recovery varies patient to patient with attention focused due to persistent bleeding/infections depending on type Exit wounds after sutures performed for some discomfort normally related.

Recovery period awareness generally conveyed patients via aftercare instructions which could vary between length periods when amounts of exercises needed stricter constraints and interval restrictions applied by different providers creating significant confusion. If worried about something during this crucial stage always reach our planning line ranging emergency numbers online contacts even surprise visits without booking appointments!


“Emergency Numbers, not being memorized (because who can retain everything) until now popping away stored iOS/android services only might swallow potential consequences if ever caught up under very tight situations!


What’s The Best Choice For Me?

Patients should consult their dentists first since they will decide whether tooth extraction is necessary based on its positioning/orientation increasingly suggesting people visit anyone other than Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery where unnecessary can lead to avoidance recovery missteps/further operations causing permanent damage leading new surgical efforts
If however, needing surgery one thing guaranteed(!), oral surgeons purely dedicated towards refurbishing cases related specifically “Oral and Maxillofacial” areas skill-wise operating beyond routinely extractions.

However, whoever you end up needing will be the best person suited for your diagnosis since they all cater to unique categories.

General dentists have the know-how on simple, extraction procedures whilst Oral Surgeons undergo in-depth training providing surgical services exclusively dedicated towards Oral/Maxillofacial tasks from emergency surgeries/bone grafting/corrective jaw surgery/impacted tooth removal etc.

Another noteworthy difference both only become noticeable once something goes wrong are that Oral Surgeons often have more comprehensive equipment & backup personnel waiting if there arise any complications during a given procedure.

In conclusion, many general dentists can perform simple extractions but see an oral surgeon when it comes to complicated cases involving impaction touching nerves or blood vessels near/in mouth/sinus issues causing infections/Cyst(s) requiring attention-requiring sedation.

Now equipped with more knowledge make informed choices without added apprehensions and stay calm whatever choice you incline yourself.

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