Everyone gets wisdom teeth once in a lifetime, but the experience is not the same for everyone. Even though wisdom teeth sprout in adulthood (ages 17 and 21), in many cases, they erupt with little problems while others end up dealing with several issues related to impacted wisdom teeth.

As wisdom teeth start to grow, most experience some kind of discomfort or pain, while in some cases, people even experience symptoms like redness and swelling of gums, pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and swelling of the jaw. Some people even experience difficulties in eating food and speaking.

In extreme cases, symptoms that are not usually associated with impacted wisdom teeth can also occur and they can continue to get worse if there is an infection in them. This can lead to intense pain, fever, swelling, and other conditions.

Moreover, sometimes you may experience headaches when wisdom teeth start to erupt. But is this a common symptom? Is your headache being caused due to these extra teeth? Should you assume the two unrelated? Let’s see what the dentists have to say about it.

Is Your Headache Just A Headache?

• Just because you have wisdom teeth erupting does not mean that you are getting a headache because of them. In certain cases, you could simply be experiencing a headache due to other reasons such as mental and physical stress. Or you could also be experiencing frequent headaches due to hormonal changes in your body, especially if the pain is on the sides of the head.

Keep in mind that in adolescence, wisdom teeth are not the only changes being made in your body, there are other things that can be causing a headache.

• With that aside, it isn’t very uncommon for headaches to be directly associated with wisdom teeth. As these extra teeth start to erupt or partially erupt, you may be able to adjust how you bite food to accommodate the discomfort. This is actually very common in cases where the wisdom teeth are impacted, causing throbbing pain, or if they are infected.

When you adjust your bite, you also have to move your jaw in a different way which can cause the TMJ to become stressed or in extreme cases, dislocated. This can cause the surrounding muscles to work harder and when these muscles are under constant stress, they can start to spasm and cause pain that can be felt in the neck, head, and face. This could trigger headaches and migraine attacks.

What Is The Solution For Headaches Caused by Wisdom Teeth?

• While you can find immediate relief by taking painkillers such as NSAIDs and Aspirin, these are not permanent solutions to the problem, especially if you are dealing with infected, or impacted wisdom tooth or teeth. The best solution recommended by Icon Dental Center dentists is to have your wisdom teeth extracted.

Wisdom teeth removal is a necessary procedure that you must go through even if they erupted perfectly and are pain-free. Dentists recommend having them extracted because these teeth are very hard to maintain and clean. 

So rather than waiting for unnecessary cavities and tooth decay on your wisdom teeth and other health issues associated with them, you will simply want to have them removed by a dentist whenever they are able to. This is the single best way to avoid pain and headaches related to these extra teeth. 

Visit Icon Dental today and have a one-on-one session with a dentist. We will advise diagnosis or treatment after thoroughly examining your wisdom teeth.