Is it easier to extract upper or lower impacted wisdom teeth?

It’s a perpetual dilemma for our patients, but unfortunately there is no straightforward answer. The difficulty or ease of surgical extraction of wisdom teeth is influenced by numerous factors:

• the shape of the roots of the wisdom teeth – the more curved or divergent the roots are, the harder it is to extract the tooth
• density of the surrounding bone – the bone in the upper jaw is generally softer, making it easier to surgically extract upper wisdom teeth in most cases
• accessibility of the region – both upper and lower wisdom teeth can sometimes have difficult access, making the procedure more complicated
• during the surgical extraction of upper wisdom teeth, there may be a risk of “sinus perforation” due to the close proximity or contact with the sinus. This complication can be relatively easily resolved during the procedure.
• lower wisdom teeth may be close to the inferior alveolar nerve, which requires special attention and can significantly slow down the surgical extraction of the tooth.