What Harm Can Impacted Teeth Do?
Since it is not normal for a tooth to remain beneath the surface after the late teenage years, it is easy to understand why problems develop. Whenever saliva can reach the crown (and this may happen even though the impacted tooth cannot be seen in the mouth), decay may occur just as in ordinary teeth. There is no way to fill such cavities, and severe toothaches finally result. Gum infections such as pyorrhea or more severe infections may also result from inability to keep this area clean with normal toothbrushing and flossing. The germs in the saliva may also cause pericoronitis, an infection around the crown of the tooth. This infection may spread to the cheek, throat, or neck, with severe pain, stiffness of the jaws, and general bodily illness. As impacted teeth press against other good teeth, they may injure the roots or push these teeth out of position. Sometimes the sac in which the tooth develops may form a large cyst, causing destruction of much bone and damage to other teeth in
