Bad taste from growing wisdom tooth?

[Anonymous]

I've got 3 wisdom teeth coming through atm, but one of them has just broken through the gum and when I touch it with my tongue it tastes weird (recognize the taste from a hole in one I had ages ago)

Anyway I presume this is normal i.e loose gum and food? but is it likely to cause me bad breath. I'm quite paranoid about it so I've started taking a toothbrush/mouthwash to work the last few days and brushing straight after eating so I feel better when talking to customers

[may04]

As an oral surgery technician, here's my .02

The weird taste/smell can either be caused from food and saliva that's been trapped and is 'digesting' in the pockets of tissue around your wisdom teeth. These areas can't effectively be cleaned with a toothbrush, and you might have a little better luck with floss HOWEVER these pockets go deeper than 3mm you will not be able to clean it yourself.

OR it could be a low grade infection. It's not uncommon for people to develop infections as wisdom teeth break through the tissue and they will generally go away once the crown of the tooth has fully erupted.

Problem is a lot of times wisdom teeth don't fully grown in. You might be able to see the top of it and you assume it's grown in, but really it ran out of space and is only partially there. Your tissue won't be able to reattach itself properly and will always be a little loose putting you at risk for food, saliva and debris to get caught and cause infection, bone recession, and deep periodontal pockets. I'd recommend just getting them taken out if you can afford it. Wisdom teeth are not very functionally significant as most of our chewing is done on the 2nd molars through your bicuspids anyway. For the majority of people out there, they just end up causing problems down the road which can result in not only the need to extract the wisdom teeth, but in some cases the teeth next to them as well. I'd at the very least talk to your dentist and see what they think the problem is and if extractions will be necessary to keep the rest of your mouth clean and healthy. Just because your symptoms are normal, does not mean they are good, or that there isn't an underlying issue that needs attention.

hope this helps!

[ambertaylor]

It's completely normal, it won't cause you bad breath as it's quite far in to your mouth and it won't be that noticeable to others, only yourself because it's your tongue that's touching the surface of it. It's just the new skin and gum that you can taste, probably tastes a little like iron. I very much doubt that there will be a smell which others will notice but if it makes you feel better about it then I see no harm in using mouthwash and a toothbrush however don't overdo it as the tooth will benefit from some bacteria being in the mouth as it comes through.

[letsdance]

prob will not give you bad breath unless it gets infected...

[letsdance]

plus your cleaning your teeth so I think you are all good.