The Teeth of Wisdom

Wisdom teeth used to be called the teeth of wisdom from around the 1500’s, and later were called wisdom teeth in the 1800’s, but there seems to be much confusion around them. Despite scientific study, the decision to remove them as is commonly done nowadays should be an individual one, as some disagreement among doctors exists as to a general policy. What is thought is that over the last 20,000 years due to changes in our diet the human jaw is evolving to be shorter. This causes less space to exist for wisdom teeth, the very last molars to erupt, sitting at the back of our mouths. As they grow out in a crowded jaw, they can press against their neighboring molar and erode it. They can develop cavities, or cause gum inflammation, or develop a cyst around the root (rarely), and most importantly for a patient, become painful. These are the main reasons to remove wisdom teeth. Some doctors advocate a more conservative approach, and recommend keeping these teeth if there are no problems like these. We believe, in general, every mouth is different, and we think every patient with their doctor can make a unique, personalized decision around their oral health. – ProDentalFx, LLC