All about wisdom teeth – what they are for and the 10 main myths

Wisdom Teeth… This phrase reeks of something mysterious. Few people know what they really are and what to do about them. Wisdom teeth have always raised many questions: Are they an unfortunate problem, or do they help us to chew our food?? Do they have to be extracted straight away?? Does pain necessarily arise when they erupt?? When does this process occur, and why does a person need wisdom teeth at all, if they appear so late?

First of all, you need to debunk the whole “mystical” component. They are so called because they erupt much later than all the other teeth, not because the baby teeth change into permanent ones. And they’re not put in during prenatal or intrauterine development, but in about the fifth year of life. Besides, if they don’t appear at all, that’s the normal for modern man, and there’s no need to panic about it.

They are called wisdom teeth because the usual, permanent teeth appear when a person is essentially an unexperienced child, and the last couple of teeth, the “wisdom teeth” appear when the person is able to live independently and has acquired some experience. Figuratively speaking, they can be called experience teeth, but it is much more beautiful to call them wisdom teeth: after their appearance, and begins, supposedly, a long period of “acquiring wisdom”, but, alas, in practice, this is far from it.

What are wisdom teeth, and when were they needed?

What are wisdom teeth, and where do we get these strange teeth? They are inherited from transitional forms from primates to man, fossil ancestors who ended their life in the early Paleolithic, a few hundred thousand, even a million years ago. Paleontologists and anthropologists call them archanthropes. They are exemplified by the Australopithecines, the Sinanthropes, the Neanderthals. All of these human fossil ancestors had much wider jaws, and they needed additional teeth to process food, chew roots, raw meat, vegetation that was unprocessed by boiling, roasting, stewing, smoking, other cooking. After all, a wider jaw results in less jaw pressure, and protects the teeth from early wear and tear.

Currently, wisdom teeth are rudimentary human organs that are not designed to perform a function in the modern world, and their loss or absence is not threatened in any way. An example of the same rudimentary organ is the colon’s wormy appendix, or appendix. The only thing it shows itself with is an unpleasant illness (appendicitis), which requires an urgent operation, appendectomy, or an appendix extraction. Let’s say more, if surgeons “enter” the abdomen for any other reason, such as performing gynecological surgery on the ovaries, then if they find an ordinary appendix, they remove it as well, so that the person does not develop appendicitis in the future.

The same is fully applicable to wisdom teeth. After man mastered fire, domesticated animals and started farming, his diet changed: food became markedly softer, its rigidity disappeared. Over thousands of years, this has led to the gradual loss of function of the wisdom teeth, which dentists call in common parlance “wisdom teeth,” or third molars.

In the XXI century, more and more often a situation arises where even the rudiments of this tooth does not exist (this condition is called primary adentia molar #3). More and more often, forms of wisdom teeth, with deviations in their position, structure, and shape, have become common. This condition is called dystopia, retention, and will be discussed below.

There are about a dozen different myths associated with these teeth, and patients in the dentist’s office never tire of asking these questions of the doctor, while the doctor must concentrate on his work. Let’s look at a few popular myths and misconceptions about wisdom teeth in this article.

Myth 1: “Wisdom teeth cut even in adolescence.”

This is not true: they begin to erupt at the minimum age of 17, and maximum even at 25. The reason for this, as we said above, is quite late in their deposit: if all other permanent teeth already exist, laid down in utero, the wisdom teeth are laid down at about 4-5 years of age. So if you take your baby to the dentist at this very time, he or she will be able to tell by the rudiments whether or not he or she will have wisdom teeth at all in the future, and how many.

The actual upper part, which is called the crown, appears at the age of 12, when it is the first permanent dentition, replacing the primary occlusion. But the roots of these wisdom teeth are quite powerful, and even after they have erupted at a later age, they continue to form.

It is worth remembering that one in 10 or 12 healthy adults does not have wisdom teeth at all, nor do they have their buds. That is why they never experience discomfort or pain during their eruption, and they do not have 32 teeth, let alone 33, as in the famous movie, but only 28 permanent teeth. This is why a range of 28-32 teeth is the norm, because wisdom teeth may not even be 4, but one, two or three, and all of these are the norm.

Myth 2: “The pain of wisdom teeth must be endured

It is far from that. Even if the wisdom teeth are “obliged” to appear, many people do not experience any discomfort or symptoms of their eruption. It is never possible to say in advance whether the emergence or eruption of wisdom teeth will cause discomfort and pain, or whether it will go completely unnoticed. All that can be said in advance is whether the wisdom teeth are in their infancy and whether they will erupt or not. If, however, there is pronounced pain, swollen gums or other symptoms during the eruption process, these may not be caused by the wisdom teeth themselves, but by pre-existing pathology.

But still, most healthy people experience a certain discomfort when wisdom teeth erupt, and this is due to the fact that wisdom teeth do not have their milk “predecessors”, unlike other teeth. All permanent teeth are preceded by milk teeth, which prepare a sufficient pit and gum pockets for the permanent teeth, and the permanent teeth grow in the spaces prepared for them, which cannot be said about wisdom teeth.

How is it possible to distinguish between the unpleasant sensation of normal, physiological wisdom teeth eruption and an existing pathology?? According to the presence of relevant symptoms. The appearance of the third molar at the most:

1. An increase in temperature to subfebrile degrees, very rarely to 38 degrees;

2. There is usually pain in the jaw, when chewing and sometimes even when swallowing;

3. The surrounding gum tissue becomes inflamed and swollen;

4. The submandibular lymph nodes very rarely grow in size and become painful.

These are signs of physiological teething. But if there is an acute and severe attack-like pain, swelling of the cheek and flux on the teething side, and, moreover, blood or pus from the gum – these are the symptoms of dental pathology. This is when you need to see your dentist. You should definitely see a doctor and if the erupting teeth constantly traumatize the tongue and mucous membrane of the cheek.

But in any case, even if your wisdom teeth are erupting normally, you should see a dentist right away instead of suffering the pain. Only a doctor can reassure the patient by determining that the wisdom tooth is erupting without abnormality. If this is the case, the eruption process can be relieved by taking effervescent tablets of paracetamol, or by using specific topical dental products, which will be discussed below.

Myth 3: “Wisdom teeth should always be extracted as soon as they emerge

Indeed, why should the third molars be extracted, if they are quiet after eruption, in their proper place, do not interfere with chewing in any way, and do not manifest themselves in any way?? These teeth do not need to be extracted at all. They strengthen the ends of the dental ligament, the periodontium, with their strong roots and will come in handy in adulthood. The help of a dental surgeon is needed if these teeth do not grow correctly, pathologically. What is the pathology that requires the removal of wisdom teeth, and the sooner the better?? These are dystopia, retention and a combination of these. Let us look at them in more detail.

Tooth Dystopia

Dystopia is the deflection of the wisdom teeth away from the general tooth row, just as an individual peg poorly anchored in a fence deflects away. These dystopic eight teeth can injure other teeth, loosen them, project sideways, injure the cheek and tongue, or even rotate in place, affecting the position of a previous tooth.

The most unpleasant thing is the version of dystopia, in which the wisdom tooth from below erupts with a pronounced tilt to the next tooth. Their crowns are in contact with each other, but between them, at the base, a closed gap is created. Food debris regularly falls in there, which is very difficult to remove even with brushing or flossing: it simply won’t pass between the teeth.

Here, decay develops very quickly in this tooth-pair, tartar deposits and plaque accumulate, and the tissues around the crown become inflamed, which is called pericoronitis. Subsequently, the gum becomes inflamed, and gingivitis occurs, with the formation of purulent gingival pockets. Such a wisdom tooth must definitely be extracted.

Tooth retention

Retention is a condition in which the tooth does not emerge with its crown like its neighbors on top, and does not become an equal member in the dental row. Such teeth are hidden, either deep in the bone of the jaw, or they still appear above the bone, but not high enough, and continue to be hidden in the soft tissue of the gum. Accordingly, the retention can be either complete or partial. A kind of “hood” is formed between the gum and the underdeveloped tooth, which also becomes inflamed, and also causes pericoronitis.

If it occurs for the first time, it is enough to remove the gum pocket overhanging the tooth and sanitize the cavity that has formed. And in the case that such inflammation occurs more and more often, then such a wisdom tooth must be removed, because pericoronitis can pass into periodontitis with the formation of purulent abscesses, and be a focus of smoldering infection in the body.

Mixed pathology occurs when one and the same tooth is underdeveloped, that is, has undergone retention, while at the same time it grows away from the others in depth, that is, it is atopic. In the most extreme cases, the tooth may not only be positioned at an angle, but even have a horizontal direction of growth, or abnormally upside down. Such a tooth will have the root upward, but the crown will grow downward.

If so, its growth will lead to irreparable damage to the adjacent teeth and jaw tissues. Form different types of purulent inflammation, from abscesses, i.e. isolated pustules, to phlegmon, or purulent overflow process, and can even form osteomyelitis of the jaw, i.e. inflammation of the bone marrow.

Myth 4: “However, wisdom teeth extraction is always painful and time-consuming

This is another misconception. An experienced doctor will not start to “tear” the tooth right away, but will choose an extraction or extraction method, depending on what exactly is bothering you, depending on the anatomy. Modern dentistry will provide complete pain relief, and keep the discomfort and unpleasant anticipation of toothache to a minimum.

Do not think that if the tooth is the furthest away, the removal of the eight is always difficult, and always with a lot of blood. If the tooth sits in its place, has a well-formed crown and a noticeable neck, and does not have the defects we described above, it is sufficient to apply the usual forceps.

Modern methods of local anesthesia allow to eliminate the pain reliably, and the simple operation itself usually takes from 10 to 12 minutes. Only it is very important to follow some rules, after the extraction of the tooth, for a few days. These are the rules:

1. Immediately after surgery for 2 hours you should not drink or eat, and you should not touch the extraction site with your tongue;

2. after 2 hours you can gradually drink boiled water at room temperature;

3. You should chew on the other side while eating, try not to rinse your mouth on the day of surgery and do not brush your teeth;

4. The next day you can rinse your mouth with an antiseptic solution, but very carefully;

5. For 24 hours after surgery, it is forbidden to drink hot food and eat hot food;

6. Within 2-3 days after surgery you need to refrain from physical activity.

Remember that even after the extraction of a healthy tooth there may be an increase in temperature and swelling of the gum, and the doctor may prescribe appropriate medication. These are paracetamol in effervescent form, acetylsalicylic acid (for adults, it is prohibited for children and adolescents), as well as gels, sprays and solutions for local application, based on the local anesthetic – lidocaine and various antiseptic compositions. These are gels such as Metrogil-denta, Camistad and their analogues.

But in the case where there is an abnormality of the wisdom tooth, you need to be examined properly, and choose the right method of extraction. It is necessary to take an X-ray of either one tooth or the whole jaw, so that the doctor can form an opinion about the surrounding teeth. Then an initial oral sanation should be performed, a blood test for hemostasis should be taken, clotting agents should be prescribed if necessary and disaggregants should be withdrawn, analgesics and sedatives such as Dexalgin should be prescribed prophylactically. This is dexectoprofen, it has a short-term but pronounced analgesic effect.

In this case, the simple application of forceps is not enough, because first it is necessary to get close to such an altered tooth. To do this you need to make an incision with a scalpel or a laser beam into the soft tissue of the gum, to dissect the bone tissue of the jaw, and then remove the tooth. The removed gum flap is then returned to its place and the stitches are applied. On top of a special anti-inflammatory bandage is applied for 3-4 hours.

In the case of such a deep intervention, full recovery can take up to 10 days, and it is during this time that dental gels, analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs will be required. In this case, you need to follow the same rules, but more strictly. While the place of surgery is healing, it is necessary to exclude brushing teeth, apply cold compresses for a few days, exclude hot, hard and spicy food in the days of healing. Naturally, it is necessary to chew on the opposite side, exclude thermal procedures – sauna, swimming pool, gym and just physical activity.

Myth 5: “Wisdom teeth are never treated – it is useless, they are immediately removed

The debunking of this myth has to do with the previous one. Yes, the third molars are far from always necessary to eliminate. Before you remove a tooth, you should try to treat them, and especially if they are normally located and there is no damage to the neighboring teeth. Although in this case, the risk of tooth decay of the wisdom teeth and their neighbors will still be higher, because they are located far away and are difficult to clean. In some cases there is nowhere for the toothbrush to get in the narrow space between the teeth.

In addition, as we said above, there may be a gum pocket if part of the tooth, roughly speaking, has not “hatched out”. This gum canopy is where the food particles that provoke tooth decay get in. In addition, wisdom teeth have a relatively long period of latent caries development as a risk factor. After all, they are molars, and they are quite thick and strong. Therefore, in order not to miss the beginning of the pathological process in the tooth enamel, you should visit the dentist for a preventive examination at least once every 6 months. If the doctor discovers caries, but at an early stage, the normally located 8th tooth can be saved.

The wisdom tooth, like all other teeth, can be affected by many pathological processes during the course of life. And then they too must be removed. The main reason for their extraction would be the serious destruction of the tooth, with its uncomfortable and distant positioning at the same time. In this case, it’s very difficult to properly cure and preserve it. There are other reasons: the presence of severely curved canals, which is quite common with wisdom teeth. This makes endodontic manipulations very difficult, and treating such a tooth is sometimes almost impossible.

A wisdom tooth should be extracted if a tooth on the other jaw opposite is missing. If the wisdom tooth is affected by decay, it causes an unequal distribution of the chewing load. The presence of such an adjacent tooth is important – it is called an antagonist tooth.

In the past, it was indeed believed that removing wisdom teeth was much better than keeping them. But in the early 21st century, British and American specialists have spoken out strongly against it, because, according to existing data, when wisdom teeth are removed, sometimes the branches of the trigeminal nerve are affected, and it is from them that pain and sensitivity of the teeth depend. As a result, teeth can be left without the “watchdog” of the body, such as the usual pain. Therefore, if a wisdom tooth does not interfere with or press on the rest of the body, it is better to let it grow.

Myth 6: “Wisdom teeth are useless”

Really, are wisdom teeth necessary if they cannot chew particularly tough food? What do they do when their function is not required of modern man?? It turns out that they are an excellent base for the mature and elderly who require dentures or bridges. A properly treated wisdom tooth provides the perfect setting, or support, for a bridge or a clasp. It can also be used in removable dentures.

Myth 7: “Wisdom teeth ruin your bite

This is what some people argue, arguing that wisdom teeth “change the position of other teeth” and loosen the general tooth row. But the thing is, both the presence and absence of the octahedrons have no effect on the bite, for the simple reason that they are not involved in the bite. Unfortunately, even though a correct bite does not depend on the third molars, they are a “fine trashcan” and require special care.

Myth 8: “Wisdom teeth extraction changes the face

Indeed, if the lower 12 pairs of ribs are removed from thin women, they could end up with a hollow waistline. But the same could not be said of extracted wisdom teeth. Both their presence or absence has no impact on the shape of the face, as all eight teeth are concentrated inside the arch of the jaw. Even if there is an obvious dystopia and the wisdom tooth has grown out, it is not visible under the fatty lump of the cheek, and does not affect the shape of the face in any way, although such a tooth does need to be extracted.

Interesting facts about wisdom teeth

Few people know, but there were quite recently what peoples who had another group of fourth molars, that is, “superwisdom” teeth. They’re Tasmanians, aborigines, a recently extinct population. Fifteen thousand years ago, Tasmania was separated by a strait from Australia, and Tasmanians were left in complete isolation for many thousands of years. The aborigines of Tasmania disappeared at the end of the 19th century, their numbers dwindling rapidly from 5,000 to 300. European diseases were the cause, and now there are only non-blooded people of mixed marriages left, and the Tasmanian language has disappeared.

Tasmanians had a number of unique anatomical features not found in any other race or nation:

1. they had very large teeth, in general, all the teeth were large, it is a world record;

2. The third molars, which in us are superfluous and non-functional, in them were well developed, and were in wonderful contact with the antagonists of the jaw, taking an active part in digestion;

3. Moreover, Tasmanians also had fourth molars, which had the same reduced function as our wisdom teeth. Thus, it was not uncommon to encounter a Tasmanian aboriginal with a full set of 36 teeth.

This wasn’t the only feature of the Tasmanian nation. They had a special skull shape, and the relative width of the Tasmanian’s nose is considered the largest in the world.

Conclusions

Those who have read this interesting text have understood to the end what is a myth and what is true about wisdom teeth. Turns out:

1. The wisdom teeth are rudimentary and take almost no part in chewing in the absence of antagonists on the opposite side;

2. Wisdom teeth can erupt without any symptoms, and do not bother a person for a lifetime;

3. in case of pronounced pain and discharge from the gingiva when wisdom teeth erupt, you should always consult your dentist,

4. Healthy eighths may not be removed, and teeth should be eliminated only in case of anomalies and pathological eruption;

5. If a tooth must be extracted, it is mandatory to follow all the instructions of the dentist, both before and after the operation, in order to reduce the rehabilitation period and make it comfortable;

6. wisdom teeth should not always be extracted. If they do not bother you and they grow normally, they may be treated, though they need more intensive and careful care.

Finally, if your wisdom teeth never grew in, you’re a perfectly normal person and it’s not a defect. Good day to you, and stay wise, with or without wisdom teeth!