Wisdom teeth tend to trigger various complications. Many people prefer to extract these teeth before the associated problems arise. What is more, some of these teeth are not easy to extract either. Whether or not your wisdom tooth is already showing signs of problems, here are some of the things that will determine the extraction difficulty.

Tooth Alignment

The alignment of the tooth is the angle with which it deviates from the normal angle. A wisdom tooth that is properly aligned is easier to remove than another one that is improperly aligned. A misaligned tooth affects more tissues than a properly aligned tooth. Extracting a misaligned tooth also involves more tissue damage than extracting a tooth with perfect alignment.

Tooth Eruption

Wisdom teeth don't always erupt fully like other teeth; they have a tendency to get impacted. Some wisdom teeth remain within the jawbone, some erupt into the gums but don't protrude above the gum line, while others erupt out of the gum lines. The more erupted a tooth is, the easier it is to extract. Again, tissue damage around the impacted tooth is one of the reasons they are difficult to extract.

Tooth Position

The jawbone runs from the front of the mouth to the back out the mouth and curves upwards. The wisdom teeth are located at the back of the mouth, but they don't always erupt at the exact same spot. The further back the tooth is located, the harder it will be to extract. Wisdom teeth located on the part of the jawbone that curves upwards towards the joint are the hardest to extract. Extracting a wisdom tooth in such a position is likely to cause serious damage to that part of the jawbone.

Proximity to Adjacent Tooth

There are also cases where the wisdom tooth erupts too close to the adjacent tooth. In such a case, care must be taken during the extraction so as to not damage the adjacent tooth. The smaller this distance is, the harder the extraction is likely to be if the other molar is not to be damaged.

Tooth Roots

Lastly, the nature of the tooth's roots also determines the extraction difficulty. Tooth roots are the parts of the tooth that connect the tooth and anchor it to the jawbone. The tooth roots can be straight, curved, thin, thick, separated, or fused together. Teeth with complicated roots are more difficult to extract than those with straight roots.

Hopefully, your wisdom tooth's extraction won't be too complicated. Fortunately, dentists have their ways of extracting even the most complicated teeth so you will still get the help you need even if you have a difficult tooth.

Look for a dental clinic to help you assess your situation.