Help! My wisdom teeth still haven’t erupted!

"Wisdom teeth" are the third molars or the last teeth that come out in the back of your mouth. These begin to erupt around the age of 17 to 20, or even in the early twenties. There are four of these teeth that emerge in the back of the mouth. These teeth sometimes tend to get stuck in the process of emerging, because they surface in the wrong direction.  Such teeth that fail to surface are called impacted wisdom teeth.
The easiest clues that help you figure out whether you may have an impacted wisdom tooth is pain or tenderness in your gums or jaw bone.  There may be bad breath. You may experience a strange taste in your mouth when you bite around a particular area. There could be redness or swelling around the area where wisdom teeth should emerge.

If you have crossed the age by which wisdom teeth normally appear, see your dentist. He will ask you if you feel any of the above symptoms of an impacted tooth.  Your dentist may advise removal of the impacted tooth even if there isn't a lot of pain. However, he won't be in a hurry to do this because the soreness and pain is often a part of the eruption process. He may wait a while to see if the tooth does surface. But if it doesn't and if you experience a chronic headache, jaw ache, swollen glands in the neck or have problems opening your mouth, then it may become necessary to get the tooth removed.

Sometimes, wisdom teeth may erupt only partially, and may be accompanied by an infection, or pain. In such cases, consult your dentist. He may ask you to get a PAN x-ray done, and based on what he finds, may suggest a surgical tooth extraction treatment for you.   In any case, getting an impacted wisdom tooth is really not such a big deal, and there should be nothing for you to worry about.