What Should You Do with Your Wisdom Teeth?

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They needed these extra chewing devices in their mouths. But as the human race evolved, the food we ate transformed too. Now we don’t need such powerful chewing systems because our food is usually cooked, processed or minced.

This is how evolution works - what we don’t need degrades. Our jaws became narrower and in most cases, they don’t even have space for the wisdom teeth. But they still grow and can bring a lot of trouble. Very often, wisdom teeth can be the cause of needing to visit a dental clinic.

What’s Wrong with These Guys?

Why do they call them “wisdom teeth”? These teeth don’t appear when others do. Their roots start forming at the age of 17-20, this is why they got such a name. At that age, the jaws are already completely formed. And they are not glad to meet these new inhabitants for which they can’t provide enough space.

The lack of space doesn’t stop them from growth. As wisdom teeth grow, they start pushing their way wherever they can. Straight growth is impossible, so they start curving aside and injuring the outsides of your cheeks. Or they can push onto their neighbor teeth and damage them too. Even if nothing is injured, they create places hard to clean and increase the chances of having cavities there.

If the abnormal process started in a tooth closest to the wisdom tooth, filling cavities becomes almost impossible without the removal of its evil neighbor. There are chances that you will have to say goodbye to it too if the decay managed to progress far enough.

If you had just gone through orthodontic treatment, you may have to start it all over again thanks to the wisdom teeth. As they grow, they push on other teeth and demand to move and give them some space. The result is the movement of the entire teeth row and overcrowding of teeth.  

Is It Always Necessary to Remove Them?

However, there are cases when the jaws are wide enough and the growing wisdom teeth perfectly integrate into a tooth row without creating any problems. Such situations are very rare but they happen. If this is your case, you can leave them. But they will just be a useless detail in your mouth that can’t be used either for chewing nor for prosthetic support.

But even the dentition of an “ideal” wisdom tooth that will perfectly fit into the jaw, can become a problem. When it can’t come out, it causes swelling, fever and severe pain. In such cases, the gum is cut a little bit to help it grow out.

So, should you remove your wisdom teeth or not? It depends on your individual issues and should be only decided together with your dentist. In most cases, the decision to remove wisdom teeth is the best decision.