Why Wisdom Teeth Are Removed

Wisdom teeth are in the very back of your mouth and serve as 2 additional pairs of molars on the upper and lower jaw. They usually grow when people are anywhere from 17 to 21 years old. This is why they are called wisdom teeth.

5-Minute Crafts is going to tell you why wisdom teeth are removed and if it’s possible to avoid it.

❗The information in this article is strictly educational. To find out if you have problems with wisdom teeth, we recommend seeing a dentist.

If all people have wisdom teet

Teeth start developing in the fetus and are already in the body when a child is born. First, 20 primary “baby” teeth appear and fall out before 32 adult teeth grow in. The first adult teeth appear between the age of 6 and 7, the next, before the age of 14; and then the wisdom teeth appear before the age of 21.

Ancient humans needed wisdom teeth to chew on very hard foods. They ate roots, leaves, meat, and nuts. Today, food is cooked, and then it’s cut with cutlery. This is why we don’t need wisdom teeth anymore, so some people might not have them at all. But the genetic program still gives most people wisdom teeth. 53.9 % of adult people have at least 1 wisdom tooth.

Why wisdom teeth are removed

Over time, our jaws have become smaller. This is because of diet and anatomy changes. As a result, modern people are often in a situation when they have wisdom teeth but not enough room for them to grow, so they remain in the gums. Such teeth lead to different issues:

🟢 They grow at different angles in the jaw, sometimes horizontally, and push on the neighboring teeth.

🟢 They move other teeth, which leads to pain and bite problems.

🟢 They get stuck in the jaw, which leads to infections and the damaging of other teeth and bone tissue.

🟢 They grow and affect the nasal passages and cause pain, pressure, and nasal congestion.

In some situations, wisdom teeth might appear out from the gum only partially. This creates a space under the gums where bacteria will appear and lead to cavities. This makes the process of cleaning the mouth really difficult.

It’s better to consult a dentist to decide whether you need to get your wisdom teeth removed.

How to identify problems with wisdom teeth

Visit a dentist. They will examine your mouth and take an X-ray to see if you have hidden wisdom teeth and if they press on other teeth.

Very often, teenagers are recommended to get wisdom teeth removed before the root system and bone structure are fully formed. This helps avoid potential problems before they even appear.

Also, before you get braces, you might need to get wisdom teeth removed because they might grow later and ruin your bite.

But most problems that wisdom teeth cause appear at the age of 15 to 25. Few people over 30 have problems that require getting wisdom teeth removed.

If you can avoid getting wisdom teeth removed

Wisdom teeth don’t need to be removed if they are the following:

✅ Completely healthy

✅ Fully grown through the gums

✅ Located correctly

✅ Don’t affect your bite

✅ Can be reached with a toothbrush and floss

In such cases, wisdom teeth perform regular functions and don’t need to be removed.