If your teenage children are lucky enough to not have any wisdom teeth at all — 35% of people have no wisdom teeth — then you won't have to worry about them having their wisdom teeth addressed or taken out in the future. However if your teens have one or more wisdom teeth, odds are that they'll have issues down the road that your family dentist will need to check out.

Family dental care practices have dentists who are able to pull out wisdom teeth that have erupted through the gum line and aren't impacted, but some cases of wisdom teeth extractions have to be done by a specialist. Here are signs your teen needs to have their wisdom teeth inspected by the family dentist.

Your teen is complaining of gum pain

As wisdom teeth start to erupt, they can cause gum pain. If your teen is complaining of gum pain or bleeding when they brush their teeth, eat, or suck in their cheeks, they may have wisdom teeth trying to come in. Sometimes wisdom teeth take a while to fully erupt and appear to go up and down in the gums, causing irritation until they finally come all the way in.

Your teen has teeth starting to crowd

If your teen has a shorter jawline, their wisdom teeth may not have room to come in all the way. This can lead to crowding of other teeth, such as the bottom front teeth. Crowding of the teeth can be permanent, so have your teen go to the family dentist as soon as their wisdom teeth are starting to come in, regardless of whether they have discomfort or not in their teeth.

Your teen has swollen cheeks

When wisdom teeth come all the way in, they can cause a lot of pain and swelling. Food debris can get stuck under or around emerging wisdom teeth and cause infection or other issues. Your teen is best off having their wisdom teeth taken out as soon as they show signs of coming in if they are in pain at all, so if you see your teen's cheeks starting to swell and they're complaining of mouth pain, see the family dentist right away.

Costs for wisdom teeth removal vary depending on where you have the service done, how many of your teen's teeth you have removed, and other factors. Your family dentist will schedule your teen's wisdom tooth removal and will give you aftercare instructions once the procedure is done.