What are wisdom teeth and why are they called that? Wisdom teeth are actually third molars and are normally the last teeth to develop and appear in your mouth. The reason they are called wisdom teeth is because they normally appear during your late teens or early twenties, an age often referred to as the “age of wisdom”.

Most people are under the assumption that wisdom teeth always need to be extracted. However that is not necessarily the case. There are times when a jaw is not large enough to accommodate the size of your wisdom teeth and that may cause one or all of them to fail to erupt. Meaning they become impacted (trapped) in the jaw bone and for nine out of ten people at least one of their wisdom teeth remains underneath the gum due to lack of space.

Not all dentists feel that it is necessary to remove wisdom teeth. Sometimes opting to leave them in allowing time to elapse to see if the teeth will erupt. Some feel that the age of 16 is too young to extract the molars but waiting until the root is completely formed (around the age of 21) makes it more difficult with a greater risk of complications. Therefore, some feel the optimal age to extract third molars is 18 to 19 years of age.

Some other reasons for extracting wisdom teeth are the possible destruction of the next tooth. Meaning if it erupts into a second molar there is a possibility that it will cause destruction of the molar which can cause decay to develop. Sometimes the force of a molar erupting causes teeth to shift resulting in crowding and overlapping of your other teeth. This also means that a break in the gum caused by the teeth erupting can cause an infection.

There are many factors to consider when deciding on a course of action for your wisdom teeth. Therefore it is most beneficial to allow your dentist to do a check up, assess the situation and help you make an informed decision about your teeth and if it's wise to have your wisdom teeth removed at this time.

Labels: dental, dentist, oral-care