Do we really need to get our wisdom teeth removed? And what takes place after your wisdom teeth are removed? Do they just come back?
In: Biology
i didn’t do anything on my wisdom teeths and all four came out all natural and perfect. The push through the gum might irritate a bit for a few days (like biting your finger, but nothing serious).
After the push-through they might take like half a year to fully grow out.
Dental professional here! (In pediatric, periodontic, and oral surgery dentistry for 7 years now)
To answer your question, it varies case by case. As others have said, much of it has to do with the amount of space one has in their jaws. Typically, due to the human diet, the mouth has evolved to become smaller and use less force to eat. Our diet is much softer than our ancestors.
Due to the lack of space, many people tend to have to get them removed. If one is being regularly checked by a dentist, even as a teen, your doctor might suggest getting them removed, even as early as 15. The body tends to heal much quicker around 16-19 than in your mid 20’s. The roots on your wisdom teeth are also not fully developed at those ages, which indicates a less invasive surgery.
What happens if they’re not taken out? Well, it depends! If you have enough room, they may very well erupt behind your second molars and become functional teeth for eating. They are very difficult to keep clean though, so many people tend to get cavities on them.
If the wisdom teeth are partially erupted, they may be impacting on the second molar in front of them. This can be dangerous though, not only due to the pain you will feel from this molar pressing on the one in front of it, but also because it can create a pocket where food and bacteria can be trapped. This can cause decay on your second molar as well, and lead to caries extending into the nerve of your tooth.
If the wisdom tooth goes unerupted, and impacts as well, this can lead to a plethora of issues. The most troubling being the possible formation of a cyst within the jaw. On your mandible(bottom jaw) this could give severe pain, due to the location of one of the primary facial nerves(trigeminal nerve) extending below the teeth. On the maxilla(top jaw), the wisdom teeth generally form in relatively close proximity to the sinuses. The pain they give could mimick a heck of a sinus infection as well.
Removing these teeth will generally alleviate and fix all of those problems, when done by a dental professional who specializes in that area of dentistry. After removing these molars, they will not grow back, unless there is a genetic propensity to develop extra wisdom teeth. This is very rare though, and usually the surgeon will be able to remove most, if not all of the wisdom teeth forming. It is much more common to have less wisdom teeth, such as only one or two, than to have more than 4. Hopefully that answers your question!!
I heard it’s a common practice of US dentists to remove wisdom teeth preliminary. Also, once I had a chance to look through a facebook with 12-15 yo pupil of some southern US school . All of them wore brackets! I think it’s more of a local practice. If teeth are ok why remove them preliminary? It may help, may not.
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