Tooth Tip Tuesday

Why do we still have wisdom teeth?

So why do we have still have wisdom teeth or 3rd molars?  We don't use them.  They errupt around 18-26 years old.  Most of the time coming in impacted leading to jaw pain and ruining perfectly aligned teeth.   

The answer is simple.  Modern dentistry has rendered wisdom teeth useless.  The 1st molars errupt around the age of 6 years old.  They are then hammered by acids and sugars in food.  They hold up remarkably well considering the human jaw can generate 200 lbs of pressure.  Then the 2nd molars erupt at 12 years old giving the mouth a fresh new pair of chompers. 

Now, teeth like to move or touch each other.  So if the 1st molars have been broken down, the 2nds try to fill "the hole".  Round 3, or wisdom teeth, come in later making a crude attempt to push things forward if any tooth anterior to it didn't handle 18 years of getting beat up.  Compare it to a curde conveyor belt of replacement teeth.

Today, teeth can be protected by sealants.  If necessary, they can be repaired by fillings or crowns.  Now there are no holes for that conveyor belt to work properly.  Humans and modern technology created their own problem - impacted wisdom teeth.  But then, what is worse?  Impacted teeth that can be easily removed or several abcesses caused by infected teeth.

Here's a very interesting comparison to the animal kingdom.  The link will lead to another page of this blog.   

Photo credit:  wikipedia