Can wisdom teeth cause sore throat?

Physicians have found a connection between wisdom teeth infections and a sore throat. Wisdom teeth sometimes referred to as third molars, emerge in one’s late teens, early twenties, or even later on in life. Often, our mouths aren’t ready to accommodate these additional teeth. As a result, the teeth often erupt in awkward angles, pushing against other teeth. They can also emerge partially right above the gums.

These issues increase the chances of your teeth getting an infection. When this happens, it often leads to several complications that, if not treated, could lead to lots of serious problems. These complications include canker sores, post-nasal drip, tooth infections, and even sore throats.

CAN WISDOM TEETH CAUSE SORE THROATS?

If your wisdom teeth grow in a crooked manner, or if they don’t erupt fully, leaving a flap of gum covering the tooth, then the chances are high that you’ll develop an infection leading to a sore throat. How does this come about?

CROOKED WISDOM TEETH AND FLABBY GUMS
Crooked wisdom teeth are often quite hard to clean since your toothbrush’s bristles don’t fully reach in between the teeth. The food particles left in between these spaces provide the right environment for bacteria to breed.

A similar thing happens to wisdom teeth that don’t fully erupt. If your wisdom tooth doesn’t fully erupt, it gets partially covered by a flap of gum tissue. The flap of gum makes it easy for food particles, plaque, and bacteria to become trapped in the gums, which provides the perfect breeding environment for bacteria.

The bacteria that breed in between these spaces release enzymes to digest the food particles. Unfortunately, the enzymes are corrosive enough that they also digest your tooth, causing microscopic cracks. If this happens over a long period, your wisdom tooth gets infected, abscessed teeth, leading to a sore throat.

Abscessed teeth have pockets of pus on various parts of the tooth resulting from bacterial infection. Sometimes the infected teeth can lead to pain that radiates from the ear to the neck or even a sore throat.

HOW DO I REMEDY THE SORE THROAT FROM MY WISDOM TOOTH?

EXTRACTING THE INFECTED TOOTH
The best way to remedy this condition is by extracting the infected tooth. This standard procedure is often used to treat teeth that emerge poorly or those that are partially erupted. The procedure involves an oral surgeon numbing your mouth and making a small incision in your gums. They then remove the infected tooth, and the area is cleaned, disinfected, and stitched shut to encourage proper healing and avoid infection. However, if you are not up to this, then there are other remedies that you could try.

KEEPING YOUR INFECTED TOOTH UNDER CONTROL
This depends on the severity of the infection. It would be best if you got the tooth extracted. However, before you decide on that, you could go ahead and try to control the infection by:

· Cleaning the infected tooth thoroughly, plus the surrounding teeth and gums

· Flossing and using an antiseptic mouth-wash

· Getting an antibiotic prescription to help kill the bacteria

HOME REMEDIES
If your wisdom tooth infection is minor, then the chances are high that the infection could disappear by itself within a few days. You could take some over-the-counter pain relief medication and clean your tooth thoroughly till the pain subsides.

It would not be best for you to apply medication in or around the infected tooth since this may cause more damage. Instead, you could use some antibacterial mouth wash, clean the area carefully with a toothbrush, or even rinse your mouth with some mild salt-water solution.

To make this solution, you’ll need to add one teaspoon of salt into a cup of warm water. Take a sip from the cup and swish the solution around your mouth, then spit it out. If you do this every day, especially after you’ve eaten could help keep your mouth clean.

Wisdom Tooth: Remedies – Smile Studio
DO I NEED TO HAVE WISDOM TEETH REMOVED?
You don’t have to remove your wisdom teeth if they are fully grown and completely erupted, if the teeth are correctly positioned in your mouth cavity, or if their bite aligns appropriately with the opposing teeth.

You could remove the wisdom teeth if they don’t have the characteristics mentioned above since the chances are high that they may become abscessed and cause infections.

CONCLUSION
Wisdom tooth sore throat is a severe condition that often makes those affected uncomfortable and causes lots of pain. One way you could avoid such complications would be by getting your wisdom teeth assessed by a dentist for a proper recommendation on whether you’ll need to have them extracted.