• Gum infection

Infection of the gum around an impacted wisdom tooth is very common. The back teeth are the hardest to clean, so it is easy for food particles and bacteria to work their way down behind the second molar. Then an infection starts around the crown of the impacted wisdom tooth. The gum may swell up, and there may be a great deal of pain.

People often mistake repeated soreness of the gum over a wisdom tooth as an effort by the tooth to erupt. Rather, it may be a warning that there is trouble brewing.

• Bone infection

If a gum infection goes untreated, it can even reach wisdom teeth that lie deep in the bone, destroying not onl/>