Have you been experiencing pain in the back of your mouth and suspect that your wisdom teeth are the source of your pain? If so and you are beyond the age of 24, you may wonder why this pain has occurred at such a late period in your life. The following points will help you to better understand what may be causing your pain and what you need to do to find relief.

Infection

If you  have noticed that your wisdom teeth feel as though they are moving up and down in your mouth, you may have wisdom teeth that did not fully push through your gums. The "movement" that you feel is likely not your wisdom teeth actually moving. Gum tissue has likely grown around the partially impacted teeth. This may have caused infection around them, which means that pus pockets around your gums could be causing that "moving sensation." In actuality, you may be experiencing the bursting of the infection pockets. If an infection is the culprit, your wisdom teeth may need to be extracted. Antibiotics may also be needed to treat the infection.

Decay

Decayed wisdom teeth is a phenomenon that sometimes occurs because it is difficult to clean the teeth in the back of the mouth. If your wisdom teeth did not fully erupt, it is likely hard to imagine that they could be causing you pain due to decay, but the partially protruded teeth are susceptible to tooth decay. If decay is discovered, a dentist might decide extraction is a better option than restoring the affected teeth. This is because fillings or crowns may be more of a burden than extracting the wisdom teeth, and the decay may extend to the root of your wisdom teeth making them unsalvageable.

A Compromised Nearby Tooth

Some people fail to realize that problematic wisdom teeth may not be the source of the oral pain in the back of their mouths. For example, damaged dental appliances and decaying teeth that have not been properly restored could be the source of your pain. These circumstances could expose sensitive nerves in your mouth that mimic the pain that people with wisdom teeth pain experience.

A dentist is the best resource to use to ensure that you receive a clear diagnosis for your oral pain, and they can also determine whether wisdom teeth removal is the best option. Relying on do-it-yourself approaches for oral pain could result in you putting yourself at risk for a more serious oral issue. You may also find that you only experience temporary pain relief, which means that you could still be unknowingly suffering from a dental emergency. For more information on this issue, check with dentists like those at Family Medical Dental Center.