[Impacted wisdom teeth: To extract or not to extract? Review of the literature]

Impacted wisdom teeth are the last teeth to erupt and many times the first to be extracted. Unlike the teeth erupting earlier in life, eruption of wisdom teeth is often accompanied by pain, difficulty in mastication, dysphagia and acute pericoronitis which require systemic medication and surgical removal. Wisdom teeth extraction is a relativelycommon procedure in oral surgery. However, the surgical procedure itself is not devoid of complications, particularly those of deep- impacted, full-bony teeth or severely-angulated teeth. There for, there are many cases in which the practitioner prefers to avoid the surgical procedure and instead recommends follow-up routine only. It is a well known fact that the longer impacted wisdom teeth remain in the jaws, the higher the risk for related pathologies such as dental caries, Periodontal disease, cysts and tumors. In addition, as the patient ages, the risk of local and systemic complications increases, during or after the extraction. Our aim was to review the literature regarding the effects of asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth during the course of human life.