by Paola Fanutti

Created on: December 13, 2009

Wisdom teeth, called third molars in dental speech, often emerge after puberty and before the age of 25.  All four molars may appear, two, or for those lucky few, none at all.  The evolutionary purpose of wisdom teeth is largely controversial, as third molars themselves are largely useless for chewing and unnecessary in the mouth.  Many infants are now born without the buds for third molars at all, perhaps signifying that third molars may one day become obsolete.

One of the biggest questions confused and cost-conscious, insurance-less patients ask their dentist is: "why do need my wisdom teeth removed?"  Especially in the absence of pain, it may seem unnecessary to remove wisdom teeth.  And while there is some disagreement on when and if to remove wisdom teeth, the common industry consensus is that if the tooth causes no problems, it likely can stay.  However, problems wisdom teeth can cause in the mouth are numerous, as up to 95% of people who do have wisdom teeth have at least one impacted tooth.  If you're like me and currently recovering from oral surgery because all four of your teeth are impacted, having them pulled will preserve your oral health, save you from pain and money in the long run.

So why remove wisdom teeth anyways?

If they are impacted, they can and most often will cause pain and damage to the surrounding teeth.  In dentist parlance, "an impacted tooth" means that the tooth has tried to bud forth, but the jaw is too small to accommodate it.  It can push against the surrounding teeth causing pain and injury in the mouth.   The tooth can be angled forward, as in the case of mesioangular impaction.  In this case the tooth is improperly angled forward.  In the case of vertical impaction, the tooth does not emerge through the gum line, pushing against the other teeth.  In a distoangular impaction, the tooth is angled backwards.  Most bizarre is the horizontal impaction, when a tooth grows horizontally, budding forth at a 90 degree angle.

Aside from growth abnormalities, teeth may or may not emerge from out of the jawbone, and this adds to complications.  A tooth that has erupted forth out of the jawbone but has failed to completely burst out of the gum line is called a soft tissue impaction, while a tooth that remains still attached to the jawbone and has not penetrated the gum line is called a bony impaction.

Impaction affects tooth health.  Not

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