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can a non-erupted wisdom tooth have a cavity?

J

Jay1982

Junior member
Joined
Jan 21, 2015
Messages
6
Location
Tacoma Washington
So i finally went in and had full x-rays done of my teeth. So i can try and get an idea of what needs to be done and how to proceed.

Something struck me as odd, i have two fully erupted wisdom teeth and two that just never seemed to grow. Well my dentist told me that i have a "huge cavity" in that non erupted tooth. I asked how can a tooth that under my gums get a cavity and he just said "it happens sometimes".

This seems odd to me.
 
Yes impacted teeth can still decay.
 
Its not impacted. The wisdom tooth has just never come out of my gums. Its still UNDER the gums.

I just think its odd that the dentist is saying that i have a giant cavity in that tooth, despite it still being under the gums.
 
Even it's it's not erupted at all it's impacted (fully impacted).
 
Although the tooth is not erupted there may be a small communication from your mouth to the tooth which would allow bacteria and possibly small food particles to collect near the tooth. In this situation it is entirely possible for the tooth to develop decay.

If however the tooth is not erupted and there is absolutely no communication with the mouth I do not think it would be possible to develop decay.
 
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