​Dr Natalie Tan, Consultant with the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS), a member of the SingHealth group, answers your questions on wisdom teeth and wisdom tooth extraction.

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Be wise about managing wisdom teeth!

Contrary to its name, wisdom teeth has no relation to a person's intelligence.

Instead, they (wisdom teeth) are known as third molars and are the last teeth to develop – usually erupting when a person is between the ages of 18-25 years. 

Wisdom teeth may either erupt upright or at an angle to the second molars (impacted wisdom teeth), or not erupt at all and remain partially or fully buried in bone. 

Wisdom teeth can either be removed preventively, before they cause problems, or symptomatically, when problems arise.

So how do you decide if, and when you should remove your wisdom teeth?

In this instalment of “Ask the Specialist”, Dr Natalie Tan will answer your questions on wisdom teeth and offer insight into the management of wisdom teeth. Be wise and pose your questions now!

About Dr Natalie Tan

Dr Natalie Tan is a Consultant with the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at National Dental Centre Singapore.

She graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery in 2013, and went on to obtain a Master of Dental Surgery (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery) from the same university in 2020. 

Dr Tan is an accredited Specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery with the Singapore Dental Council.

Ref: G25