Strange Question Extra Tooth?

[kitkat]

Hi! I have a rather odd question for the dentists on the board...
I am going to be 18 soon and I had my wisdom teeth out back in late may early june so it's been about 8 or 9 months and I hadn't had too many problems up until recently when I started getting a weird tender, sore, raw pain where my wisdom tooth used to be on the lower left jaw. It doesn't really look abnormal from what I have seen other then it being a bit red but feeling it with my finger there is a hard mass under the gums next to that back tooth where the wisdom tooth was before and its really tender when I push on it...it feels the exact same way it did when my wisdom teeth broke through the first time around...is this another tooth? and if it is...wouldn't it have been seen on an xray when I had my first set out?
Thanks! Kitkat

 

[letsconnect]

At a wild guess, it might a small piece of bone leftover from the wizzie surgery which is working its way through the gums. This is not unusual, and perfectly harmless. If it was another tooth, it would have shown up on x-rays . Best thing would be to ask your dentist to have a look !

 

[Gordon]

It is possibly a 4th molar, they do occur although as Let's says it should have been visible on the x-rays from before taking the wizzies out. On the other hand it could have formed a bit later and not been visible at that time.

Let us know what it turns out to be!

 

[kitkat]

Thanks for the info guys
It bothers me on and off so I don't want to make a big thing of it unless it's absolutely necessary. I wondered about the pieces of bone possibly surfacing but wasn't sure if that was possible since the surgery was almost a year ago and wasn't sure about the extra tooth thing (even though it feels like it) cause I figured it would have been visible on at least the xrays if not during the surgery...Although I really dread that idea that it could be another tooth as that would probably result in another extraction which I'm not real enthusiastic about after the last 4. I guess I've got a 50/50 chance here...My next appointment isn't till September 1st so I think I might try to hold off till then as things are bit hectic right now unless things get worse or too bothersome anyway. I figure by then I'll probably know what it is anyway cause if it's a tooth making it's way through then it will have probably started to break in and if it's a bone shard it will probably have worked itself out on it's own...that's what I'm hoping for anyway lol.