Pain at the very back of your jaw, especially in your late teens through your thirties, is usually a wisdom tooth making trouble. Call (424) 722-6124 and our Los Angeles office will examine it the same day, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and tell you whether it needs to come out or just needs help settling down.
The $89 covers the emergency exam and diagnostic X-rays. Treatment is priced separately and quoted to you in writing before any work starts.
Same-day appointments · $89 exam + X-rays · Phones answered 24/7 · Se habla español
Signs your wisdom tooth needs attention today
- Throbbing or pressure behind your last molar, sometimes reaching the ear
- A swollen, tender flap of gum partly covering an erupting tooth
- Pain or stiffness when opening your mouth or chewing
- A bad taste or odor from the back corner that brushing doesn't fix
- Swelling along the jawline on one side
The gum-flap situation has a name, pericoronitis, and it's the classic wisdom-tooth emergency: food and bacteria get trapped under the flap, the tissue swells, and the opposing tooth bites down on it. It responds well to same-day treatment and badly to waiting.
If you have fever with facial swelling, or trouble swallowing, treat it as an abscess situation and call now.
What happens at your same-day visit
Wisdom tooth calls start with the $89 exam and X-rays, and the X-ray is the main event: wisdom teeth do most of their damage below the gumline, where an image is the only way to see the tooth's angle, its roots, and what it's pressing against.
From there the path splits. An infected gum flap gets cleaned and treated so the pain settles, sometimes with antibiotics in support. A tooth that's impacted, cavitied, or damaging its neighbor gets an honest recommendation for extraction, with the price in writing. And a wisdom tooth that's erupting normally and just sore gets left alone, with advice instead of a procedure. You'll know which case is yours before you leave, and nothing happens without your OK.
Cost of wisdom tooth care in Los Angeles
The exam and X-rays are $89. What follows, if anything, is quoted in writing once the dentist can see the tooth's position: treating an infected flap and removing an impacted molar are entirely different procedures. We accept most major PPO plans, and financing options are available; see the cost and insurance page.
Why patients choose our Los Angeles office
You get an answer today instead of a referral chain. Exam, X-rays, diagnosis, and if needed the extraction itself all happen in this office. Hours are Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, a real person answers the phone 24/7, and the office sits at Sepulveda and National with free parking.
Wisdom tooth care near you in Los Angeles
We see a lot of back-of-the-jaw pain from the college crowd around Westwood and from Palms and West LA, all within about ten to twenty minutes of the office. Coming down Sepulveda usually beats the 405 at midday.
Frequently asked questions
Does wisdom tooth pain mean the tooth has to come out?
No. Pain during normal eruption can settle once the tooth is through, and an infected gum flap can be treated with the tooth staying put. Extraction gets recommended when the X-ray shows impaction, decay the toothbrush can't reach, or damage to the next tooth. You'll see the image and the reasoning yourself.
What helps the pain until my appointment?
Warm salt water rinses, especially after eating, flush the area under a gum flap. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen, used as the label directs, handles most of the ache. Avoid chewing on that side. Then call (424) 722-6124 so there's an end date on the discomfort.
Why does the pain come and go for months?
Erupting wisdom teeth move in pushes, and a gum flap gets inflamed, settles, and gets inflamed again each time food packs under it. Each round tends to be a little worse. An X-ray settles whether the tooth will ever erupt cleanly or whether the cycles continue until it's removed.
I'm in my forties. Can this still be a wisdom tooth?
Yes. A wisdom tooth that behaved for twenty years can develop decay, gum problems, or a cyst around an old impaction. Back-of-jaw pain at any age deserves an X-ray, and sometimes the culprit turns out to be the molar in front of it instead, which is its own toothache workup.