What is the purpose of a wisdom tooth?
Wisdom teeth usually erupt between the ages of 17 and 25.
Sometimes it forms asymptomatically, but in some cases it needs to be removed (due to infection, caries, gum disease and other pathologies of the oral cavity).
Not all people have wisdom teeth - in both cases (those who have and those who do not) it is normal.
A wisdom tooth is like any other primary, back tooth. Most of them have 2 or 3 roots, although they can have 4. The shape of the root in each person's mouth is different.
The wisdom tooth eruption process is often accompanied by the following symptoms:
- The gums around the main back teeth are reddened or swollen;
- Jaw pain;
- Since the wisdom tooth presses on the nerve, the person complains of facial pain;
- White spots on back teeth.
When the wisdom tooth is formed normally, physiologically, it acquires the function of a kind of support in the oral cavity - it protects the jaw bone. However, according to many dentists, we don't need it at all.
The wisdom tooth is basically non-functional and practically does not participate in the chewing process.
The evolutionary processes of human development led to a decrease in the size of the jaw bones - the modern human jaw is much smaller. Today, many people's mouths actually don't even have room for an "extra" tooth to erupt.
As you know, the primitive diet of our ancestors consisted of a large amount of raw meat, plants, hard nuts, therefore, they needed wisdom teeth to grind this type of food.
Today, against the background of modern products and the corresponding dishes, the function of the wisdom tooth is lost - as a result of evolution, a person lost the need to use the wisdom tooth, therefore, the jawbone, the physiology of the oral cavity adapted to the new reality.
Source:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23223-wisdom-teeth
