As an estimation, 95% of Americans aging 18 years old and above are said to have a wisdom tooth or two. Wisdom teeth, typically molars, erupt at early adulthood after the second set of teeth have grown. The term “wisdom teeth” are used as they are said to be the final set of molars that a certain individual could have in his/her entire life. They can erupt between the late 18 and late 25, which is often called “the age of wisdom.”  

This set of teeth oftentimes does not render any function when it comes to the food eating process, and can sometimes cause complications especially when the tooth erupts sideways, affecting negatively the adjacent teeth and the jaw. This is why there are cases that an oral surgeon or the general dentist would recommend its extraction through surgery after careful observation of the patient’s case. If you are looking for an extraction surgery like this, the wisdom teeth removal Reston offers a professional service that is legitimate and trusted by many customers.  

According to Thomas Dodson, a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and director of the Center for Applied Clinical Investigation at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, wisdom teeth imposes some problems when they grow. This is rooted in the evolutionary changes of the jaw and the skull. Anthropologists have stated that as the human species evolve, so does the brain; and in order to accommodate the growing mass of the human brain, the jaw needs to shrink, rendering a limited space for teeth. This is the reason why the third set of molars usually does not have enough room to grow fully. And because the jaw has rendered incapacitated, the teeth can grow sideways, tearing the gum apart and affect the adjacent teeth — also known as impacted wisdom teeth. Some cases of impacted teeth need to be surgically removed by a professional oral medical surgeon or dentist as it may cause gum bleeding, tooth decay, inflammation, infection, and can develop into serious oral disease.  

Whether or not it needs to be extracted is a case-to-case basis that needs professional dental advice. There are cases where the dentist might not necessitate extraction surgery as they do not impose a threat to the mouth and other teeth, and when they have fully erupted and are functional. How to maintain its cleanliness needs to be discussed with your dentists as these teeth are not easy to maintain and clean. They are found at the back of the mouth, making them more susceptible to food particle accumulation and bacterial build-up. If the teeth show some symptoms of decay, your dentist might recommend having them removed. 

According to a recent study, 85 percent of people have wisdom teeth but most of these people would have their wisdom teeth removed. Also, the number of people who have wisdom teeth is increasing for each passing year.  

According to some doctors, it is important that the patient examines the wisdom teeth earlier in their teenage years so that careful decision will be made by the surgeon or the dentist.