What’s the point of wisdom teeth? It’s a common question for dental patients who find themselves in pain due to their wisdom teeth, and it’s completely understandable – after all, if wisdom teeth aren’t a necessity, why do we have them?
That’s why we’ve created this page, aiming to teach you everything you need to know about your wisdom teeth. Some people never encounter any issues with their wisdom teeth, while others choose to have their wisdom teeth extracted. In some situations, wisdom tooth extractions can fail – if your dentist acts negligently and your treatment goes wrong, you may be able to open a dental negligence claim against your dentist.
To start your claim, please complete our online claim form or request a callback here.
Wisdom Teeth: What Are They & How Common Are They?
Wisdom teeth are located at the back of the mouth and are the third set of molars. They’re commonly called ‘wisdom teeth’ because they grow much later than your other teeth, usually in young adulthood between the ages of 17 and 25. However, in rare cases, you may find that you start to develop wisdom teeth outside of the typical third-molar developmental years, sometimes even before adolescence.
Adults usually have 32 teeth (including your third molars). As your wisdom teeth emerge at a later date than the rest of your permanent teeth, there’s often limited space left in the mouth to accommodate them comfortably. If your jaw is too small, your wisdom teeth may not grow properly, which can lead to dental issues.
Most people develop at least one wisdom tooth during their lifetime, although not everyone has them. According to the Dental Health Foundation, it’s estimated that between 5 and 37% of the population are missing at least one of their third molars.
The exact reason why some people lack wisdom teeth remains unclear to this day, but there are several factors that may have an influence on third molar growth:
- Genetic factors (it’s unlikely that you’ll have wisdom teeth if your parents didn’t have them)
- Your environment and where you grew up
- Your chewing function (wisdom teeth don’t provide a lot of biting/chewing power, unlike your other teeth)
If you’re not sure whether you have wisdom teeth you should ask your dentist – sometimes dental X-rays can also be used to search for them.
Wisdom Teeth Function: The Evolutionary Advantage
Whilst wisdom teeth are no longer essential in the present day, they are believed to have served an evolutionary purpose for early humans. One theory suggests that your third molars acted as replacement teeth for our distant ancestors, who lacked access to modern dental care.
Modern oral hygiene routines and dental surgery were not available to our ancestors, and they also commonly ate a variety of different textured foods, which may have led to further oral health complications, such as tooth loss or tooth decay.
In these situations, an extra set of teeth may have helped humans to eat their food, if their other teeth had become damaged and/or fallen out. However, nowadays, we have much more knowledge about dental injuries and modern humans tend to eat soft and tender foodstuffs, so an extra set of teeth isn’t really necessary anymore.
Wisdom teeth are vestigial structures – this term refers to body parts that no longer serve a purpose for modern humans, but had a critical function for our ancient ancestors. Their original purpose was to grind down hard foodstuffs and replace worn-down teeth, which are not required in the present day. Interestingly, the human jaw was larger in the past than it is today, so dental impaction may not have been as much of an issue as it is nowadays.
How Do Wisdom Teeth Develop?
As previously stated above, your wisdom teeth typically start to grow between the ages of 17 and 25 (although some outliers grow their third molars at different times). However, development actually begins in the womb at the six-week point of gestation, as your tooth buds start to develop in your jaw. In early childhood, the wisdom tooth germ (a clump of cells that eventually turns into a tooth) begins the growth process in your jawbone.
Between the ages of 7 and 10, the calcification process begins – hard tissue is formed in your tooth germs, created from a mixture of different minerals (such as calcium and phosphorus, produced from super foods). Root development typically occurs between the ages of 14 and 16 – the direction of your wisdom teeth is also determined at this stage.
Wisdom tooth eruption occurs between the ages of 17 and 25, which is when you’ll first start to feel some pain and discomfort after dental work. If there is enough room and your third molars are properly aligned, they should erupt properly, without causing any other issues. However, if there isn’t enough room or misalignment happens, you may experience partial eruption or impaction (when your teeth are trapped under your gums).
If everything has gone as planned and wisdom tooth extraction is not required, the final step of the development process begins. Between the ages of 18 and 25, your roots will develop and become fully formed.
You will usually have four wisdom teeth, which can also take several years to grow in – you may find that they grow for a while and stop for several months, before starting to grow again. This is often because it’s harder for new teeth to push through due to your other fully formed adult teeth, which can lead to your third molars becoming impacted or damaged.
Wisdom Teeth Complications
Some people develop oral complications due to impacted wisdom teeth or teeth that haven’t erupted properly – these issues often develop if your teeth are misaligned or if overcrowding occurs. Sometimes, surgical removal may be required to rectify the problem – this is much easier when you are younger and the roots have not become fully formed yet. Misalignment can also lead to problems with your other adult teeth, leading to overcrowding in your mouth.
Something else to be aware of is pericoronitis, which is where the gum tissue around the wisdom tooth becomes inflamed and infected (although the signs are similar to gingivitis). If this happens, you may find it difficult to eat and swallow, as pericoronitis can also be particularly painful.
Bacteria can also accumulate in the gum pocket if you have an impacted or misaligned wisdom tooth, which can cause tooth infections, dental abscesses, pain and bad breath. You should also be aware that the location of your third molars makes them much harder to clean than your other teeth, so illnesses like gum disease and tooth decay may be more likely in these areas.
In some rare cases where your third molars fail to erupt, other issues may occur. Cysts can also develop in the soft tissues near the affected tooth, which may lead to further damage to the surrounding bone and teeth, so it’s important to contact your dentist if you suspect a problem with your wisdom teeth.
However, your dentist will usually only suggest wisdom tooth extraction if it is absolutely necessary. This is because the surgery can be particularly difficult to carry out if the roots have already formed – if the treatment fails, further issues such as nerve damage after wisdom tooth extraction can occur.
How Can I Care for My Wisdom Teeth?
If you haven’t had your wisdom teeth extracted, your dentist should examine them during your check-ups. Your dentist has a duty of care to inform you of any potential issues with your teeth – if they misdiagnose an oral health issue or fail to provide the proper treatment and harm is caused as a direct result, you may be able to start the dental negligence claims process.
There are also several steps you can take to care for your wisdom teeth at home:
- Regular brushing – Your teeth should be brushed twice a day – particular care should be taken to ensure you brush your wisdom teeth adequately, as they can be hard to reach.
- Floss your teeth once a day – Flossing is just as important as brushing. Dental picks and brushes may be easier to use when flossing your third molars, as opposed to traditional dental floss.
- Use an antibacterial mouthwash – Mouthwash isn’t a necessity like flossing or brushing your teeth. However, using an antibacterial mouthwash is still a good idea, helping to kill off any harmful bacteria that may have entered your gum pockets. Dental professionals suggest that any mouthwash, even those containing fluoride, should not be used after brushing your teeth. The reason being that toothpaste contains a higher concentration of fluoride compared to mouthwash, and using it after brushing washes away the fluoride which is left on your teeth.
Wisdom Tooth Extraction Gone Wrong?
We hope this guide has helped to answer the question of ‘What’s the point of wisdom teeth?’ Whilst wisdom teeth are now classed as vestigial structures, they once had an important purpose, helping early humans to chew their food when their other teeth had become worn down or fell out.
Occasionally, things can go wrong when having surgery carried out on your wisdom teeth, which can indicate that dental negligence has occurred during an extraction. For example, you would be able to open a dental negligence compensation claim for wrong tooth extraction, if this situation occurred.
If you suspect that your dentist has behaved inappropriately and this behaviour has led to physical or psychological injuries, you may be able to open a dental negligence claim with our expert team of dental solicitors.
To enquire about your claim, please contact our helpful team here.