Symptoms & conditions
Wisdom tooth pain
The short answer
Wisdom tooth pain usually means one of three things: the tooth is coming through and the gum above it is inflamed (pericoronitis), it's impacted at an angle pushing the second molar, or it has decay you can't clean. Not every wisdom tooth needs extraction — but a painful one usually does.
What's happening
The clinical picture
The third molars (wisdom teeth) erupt between 17 and 25, often without enough room. Three patterns cause pain. Pericoronitis: gum flap covers part of the crown, food gets trapped, bacteria inflame the flap. Warm salt-water rinses buy days; an antibiotic calms the flare; extraction is the cure if it keeps recurring. Impaction: the tooth is stuck at an angle (mesial, horizontal, vertical), pushing the second molar or eroding its root — clear extraction indication. Carious wisdom tooth: decay so far back it can't be reliably filled; extraction is cheaper than the long-term repair.
Warning signs
Contact us the same day if:
- Facial swelling around the back of the jaw
- Difficulty opening mouth (trismus)
- Fever with the pain
- Bad taste or pus from the gum flap
- Pain extending to the ear or down the neck
What we do
Our approach
Panoramic X-ray (or CBCT if roots are close to the nerve) to classify the impaction. For pericoronitis: clean under the gum flap, prescribe antibiotics if systemic signs, schedule extraction after the acute phase. For impaction or decay: written estimate, extraction under local anaesthesia (simple OMR 40-70, surgical OMR 80-180). We don't extract asymptomatic wisdom teeth "just in case" — evidence doesn't support it.