How Does Wisdom Teeth Removal Affect Teeth Alignment

If you have struggled with the emergence of wisdom teeth as a young adult, it is a safe bet that you cannot wait to have them extracted. Those third molars are unnecessary, and though they grow as far toward the back of your mouth as possible, they can cause a world of pain and other challenges to your oral health.

Therefore, as you get ready for your wisdom teeth to be surgically removed, you may be wondering how their removal will impact your teeth alignment. You may be worried that you are in for a nasty surprise in terms of your teeth shifting as you recover from your procedure. The good news is that having your wisdom teeth removed may actually alleviate teeth spacing issues like this.

Extra Spacing After Wisdom Tooth Removal

Your wisdom teeth are as large as the molars that are at the very back of your mouth. Therefore, when they grow, they naturally crowd the rest of your teeth, pushing them inward and to the front of your jaw. This is especially problematic for people who have very narrow jaws.

Thus, when wisdom teeth are removed, all of your other teeth are free to shift a bit once more. Teeth shifting is a very natural and constant process. In fact, when teeth cannot shift due to crowding from wisdom teeth, your gums can begin to deteriorate and hurt more than usual.

In other words, when your wisdom teeth are removed, and your other teeth space out a bit, this is a beneficial result. It is a natural and desirable effect. Wisdom teeth removal cannot cause teeth misalignment on its own. If anything, the procedure can correct any misalignment you experience prior to it.

Bite Misalignment After Wisdom Tooth Removal

Once your wisdom teeth are surgically removed, you may feel a strange sensation in your jaw when you bite down. Firstly, you no longer have those intrusive molars in the back, which were the likely cause of tension and irritation in your jaw. Once they are removed, you may be able to open your mouth wider, and you won’t feel a strange snapping sensation as you bite down.

Since your remaining teeth will naturally shift after wisdom tooth removal, they may indeed feel like they are misaligned as you bite down. However, this sensation is only due to the fact that your teeth were misaligned for a long time as your wisdom teeth grew into place. As soon as they began to break through your gums, your functional teeth shifted inward and became misaligned.

Though the strange sensation of misalignment may persist for several weeks as you bite down, you need not worry. This is not a long term effect. You will get used to your newly aligned teeth in due time.

Teeth Alignment Strategies to Try After Wisdom Tooth Removal 

If you truly cannot get used to your newly spaced out teeth after you undergo wisdom teeth removal, you can contact a dental care practitioner to help you cope. They may even be able to help you align your teeth in such a way that you are more comfortable biting down and opening your jaw.

Custom made teeth aligners may be a positive course of treatment for you. Though patients typically opt for aligners as a first resort prior to wisdom teeth removal, there is a lot of promise in using aligners after such a procedure. A well-made set of aligners can help your teeth form natural spacing after your wisdom molars are gone.

Now that you do not have to worry about ruining your tooth alignment with surgical wisdom teeth removal, you can enjoy the positive outcome that this procedure affords you. If you need them, aligners are also a viable option as a transition once your wisdom teeth are no more.