Known risks and complications associated with the surgery

Common risks associated with any surgical procedure include swelling, bruising, pain, and bleeding. In addition to the above risks, the following are uncommon but possible complications associated with wisdom tooth removal:

• Infection: Any infection should be taken seriously and immediately reported to your surgeon, who will appropriately treat the problem. Signs of infection include fever, abnormal swelling and pain, salty or prolonged bad taste and pus formation.
• Damage to adjacent teeth: Damage can occur to other teeth close to the ones being removed. Often this damage occurs on teeth that have large fillings.
• Nerve Damage: Numbness, pain, or changed feelings in the teeth, gums, lip, chin and/or tongue (including possible loss of taste). This is because the tooth roots can be very close to these nerves, which means they can be injured or damaged. Usually the numbness or pain goes away over time, but in some cases, it may need more treatment or may be permanent.
• Joint Pain: Jaw joint (TMJ) soreness, tenderness, pain, or locking, which can be temporary or permanent.
• Root Fragments: Sometimes tooth roots may be left behind to avoid harming important structures such as nerves or the sinus (a hollow place above your upper back teeth). This rarely presents long-term problems.
• Sinus Complications: The roots of the upper back teeth are often close to the sinus and sometimes a piece of the root can get into the sinus. An opening may occur from the sinus into the mouth that may need more treatment.
• Jaw Fracture: It is extremely rare that the jaw will break, but it is possible when the teeth are buried very deep in their sockets.