Oral surgery is commonly used to extract a severely damaged tooth that cannot be saved or to obtain a tissue biopsy of a suspicious oral lesion. Extractions can involve a single or multiple teeth. Wisdom teeth extractions are a fairly common procedure. Wisdom teeth often cause problems as they are trying to protrude through the gums. When a wisdom tooth is impacted, it means the tooth is coming in at an angle and not straight through the gum line. This can cause pain, the tooth can come in unevenly, or the tooth may only emerge partially.