What is an Impacted Tooth?

An impacted tooth is one which is unable to emerge properly as it is wedged against another tooth below the gum. The teeth most vulnerable to impaction are the third molars, or wisdom teeth, which usually emerge when the person is about 18 years old. An impacted wisdom tooth will probably be removed in hospital under a general anaesthetic. The hospital stay will be about 24 hours.

The upper left (picture right) and upper right (picture left) wisdom tooth are distoangularly impacted. The lower left wisdom tooth is horizontally impacted. The lower right wisdom tooth is vertically impacted (unidentifiable in X-ray image). The glowing parts in the teeth are cavities filled with amalgam.