“Confucius say: He who removes teeth that will cram mouth shall be wise…..”

 Most of us do exactly as Confucius say.  85% of people will have some or all of their wisdom teeth removed in their lifetime due to impaction, pain, infection, or overcrowding and shifting of other teeth.  Right now you must be thinking “Oh great dental experts at Waverley Dental, why do I have these extra teeth?” 

 It’s hard to believe those extra teeth, also known as third molars, once served an incredibly important purpose.  The answer to this question can be found if we go back in time 10,000 years….

            Primitive man (and woman!) were primarily hunters and gatherers who, without the help of Stop & Shop, had to find their own food.  Their diets consisted of rough, coarse, and raw foods which often were accompanied by sand and dirt.  The rough diets required hefty chewing power to rip meat right off the bone, therefore, primitive man’s (and woman’s!) jawbones were much larger.  This larger jawbone was able to help accommodate 32 teeth while many of our current mouths can only fit 28.  Additionally, the rough diets whittled down teeth, making them individually smaller, also helpful in providing space for these additional teeth. 

            The dental hygiene and access to dentists 10,000 years ago was nearly non-existent, which caused our ancestors to fall prey to tooth decay and tooth loss.  Furthermore, activities such as battling buffalo created a situation where teeth could easily be knocked out.   By the time an adult reached the ripe old age of 20, evolution provided for an additional set of molars to replace the decayed/missing ones.  Wisdom teeth also served a purpose to push forward existing teeth to help fill in the gaps in other areas where teeth were lost.

            Today, we neither have space nor the need for a third set of molars due to a combination of changing bone structure, softer diets, less dangerous daily activities, and better dental hygiene and in-office restorative methods such as the ones we offer at Waverley Dental Care.  Evolution is always at work, evidenced by the fact that an increasing number of people today are developing fewer, or no, wisdom teeth.  If you would like to know if you are one of these highly evolved individuals, please call the office and we can review your recent x-rays.   Never been to our office?  Now would be a good time to switch to Waverley Dental Care!