Impacted Tooth: Signs and Treatment Options

By Dr. Boris Zusin · Published August 1, 2026

An impacted tooth is one that's blocked — by another tooth, bone, or gum tissue — from fully erupting into its normal position. It's most commonly a wisdom tooth, though upper canines are impacted somewhat often as well.

Common Signs

Pain or tenderness near the back of the jaw, swelling or redness of the gum tissue over the area, difficulty opening your mouth fully, and a bad taste or odor near the site are all common indicators. Sometimes an impacted tooth causes no symptoms at all and is only found on a routine X-ray.

Why It Matters

An impacted tooth, particularly a partially erupted one, creates a spot that's genuinely difficult to keep clean, which raises the risk of infection and decay in that area and sometimes in the tooth right next to it. Impacted wisdom teeth in particular can also crowd or damage neighboring teeth as they push against them.

Treatment

Depending on the position and severity, treatment ranges from monitoring (if it's not causing problems and isn't likely to) to surgical extraction. Because impacted teeth — especially wisdom teeth still under the gum or bone — typically require a surgical approach, we generally coordinate this with an oral surgeon rather than attempting it in our own chair, similar to how we handle other procedures that call for specialized surgical training.

Suspect you have an impacted tooth? Schedule an exam and X-rays to find out, or learn more about our extraction services.