Why do we have wisdom teeth? Should they retire? Your questions answered

When I was younger, I remember my wisdom teeth making me sad when they started coming out.

Eventually the pain went away on its own, but for others it’s not that simple.

Wisdom teeth can be a real pain — not only in the mouth, but also in the hip pocket.

But why do we have these teeth anyway, and is it always better to pull them out?

Why do we have wisdom teeth?

Wisdom teeth are our third and final set of molars, which are the large chewing teeth proper in the back of your mouth.

They get their name because they usually appear when you become an adult and — apparently — gain “wisdom”.

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But it turns out that we don’t actually use those teeth at all. So why do we have them?

Well, there was a time when wisdom teeth were important to the survival of the human species.

“They are part of our evolutionary heritage,” says Tanya Smith, an expert on tooth evolution from Griffith University.

When we were hunters and gatherers, feeding ourselves was hard work.

What we picked up needed a lot of grinding work before being swallowed.

So early species of the human family had bigger mouths, bigger and more complex teeth – and actually used their wisdom teeth to chew, says Professor Smith.

But over the centuries our diet changed, especially after the invention of agriculture.

“It involved softer, less mechanically demanding food, so there wasn’t the same pressure to maintain large jaws and faces,” says Professor Smith.

Add to that today’s highly processed, microwavable diets, and wisdom teeth have become nothing more than a pretty useless evolutionary relic.

Why do wisdom teeth cause problems?

Today, our jaws are much smaller than our ancestors’, so many of us don’t have enough room in our mouths for wisdom teeth to come out easily, or other teeth get in the way.

So sometimes wisdom teeth get “hit” — either partially or completely trapped in your gums or jawbone.

Most people will not have problems from wisdom teeth, but in some cases they can lead to inflammation, infection or tooth decay in the adjacent teeth.

And the result can be very painful.

Despite popular belief, however, there is no evidence that impacted wisdom teeth push other teeth out of alignment.

On average, 25 per cent of people worldwide have impacted wisdom teeth, says Professor Smith.

However, some ethnicities have a higher percentage of influence, with the percentage in European populations exceeding 70%.

How many wisdom teeth should you have?

Some people are lucky enough to have no wisdom teeth at all, while others may only develop one, two or three. All these scenarios are known as “third molecular agenesis”.

Again, it varies greatly by nationality.

A worldwide review of research on agenesis of third molars found the global rate to be 22.63 percent.

The percentage among Europeans was close to this average, just over 20 percent. People in Africa had the lowest level of rudeness at about 5 percent and Asians the highest at about 30 percent.

Interestingly, what determines the number is not only genetics. Even identical twins can have different numbers of wisdom teeth.

Should you have your wisdom teeth removed?

Experts recommend removing wisdom teeth if they are causing problems.

But what about removing non-problematic wisdom teeth, just in case?

In 2016, a reviewed by the Cochrane Collaboration found insufficient evidence to support the removal of disease-free wisdom teeth, but noted the poor quality of the available evidence.

In 2020, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence It also found that there was “no reliable research” that prophylactic removal of affected wisdom teeth helped people.

On the other hand, he said, the risk of removing wisdom teeth can lead to nerve damage, damage to other teeth, infection, bleeding and — rarely — death.

Dental surgeon Paul Sambrook agrees that the risks associated with wisdom teeth removal must be weighed against the benefits.

He stresses that it is a judgment call and that surgeons may recommend removing partially erupted wisdom teeth, even if they are not currently causing a problem.

“It’s whether they’re likely to cause symptoms like infection, tooth decay, problems with other teeth,” says Professor Sambrook, who is affiliated with the University of Adelaide and has chaired professional groups in his field.

He also advises that if you are going to have your wisdom teeth removed, you will recover better from surgery if you have it while you’re younger.

How are wisdom teeth removed and are there other options?

Wisdom tooth removal may require cutting the gum, removing bone, and splitting the tooth with a drill to remove it into parts.

Another type of treatment for impacted wisdom teeth is called a crownectomy, where only the crown of the tooth is extracted and the roots are left inside.