Wisdom teeth (your third molars) are the last teeth to come in – and the ones least needed for oral health. They may not erupt, or merge from your gums, until your late teens or early twenties – if they erupt at all. Most often, they’re impacted, or trapped in the jawbone and gums, usually because there’s not enough room for them in your mouth.


Our jaws are smaller than those of early humans who needed larger jaws and more teeth for their tougher diet. We don’t need that extra chewing power anymore. In fact, wisdom teeth often do more harm than good, and your dentist may recommend removing them.


From Silent to Serious Problems. If they’re impacted, you may not even know that you have wisdom teeth- until pain suddenly strikes because of infection or pressure on an adjacent tooth. You may not know that your developing wisdom teeth are pushing on the roots of adjacent teeth-until those teeth start to shift. If your wisdom teeth do erupt, they may be hard to clean, so the odds of decay or infection of surrounding gum tissue are high. The results of expensive orthodontic work can even be ruined if your wisdom teeth crowd adjacent teeth, causing them to shift position.


Removal May Be Wise. Whether you have obvious symptoms or not, you can rely on your dentist’s expertise to diagnose existing or potential problems caused by your wisdom teeth. If your dentist recommends their removal, it may be the wisest choice for the health of the rest of your mouth. You can help make your treatment a success by understanding what you can do to promote a successful recovery.


Most people have four wisdom teeth, one in each corner of the mouth, but each tooth can be at a different stage of eruption and position of impaction. Since wisdom teeth develop over a period of many years, harmful changes in your mouth may be gradual. But these changes could result in sudden and severe pain. If you learn the different ways wisdom teeth can develop, you’ll be better able to understand why you may need to have them removed.


How Your Wisdom Teeth Grow. By your late teens, your jawbone has nearly reached its adult size. But sometimes it isn’t large enough to hold developing wisdom teeth. When this happens, your teeth become trapped in the bone and grow wherever they can. The crown (chewing surface of the tooth) may only partially break through the gum. In other cases it may remain completely in the bone. The roots, which hold the tooth in place, may become misshapen or grow dangerously close to a sinus cavity or to the nerve located in your lower jaw.


Position of Impaction. Cramped for room, impacted wisdom teeth grow in many different directions, commonly at an angle. A wisdom tooth may grow at an angle toward your other teeth.


The Advantages of Early Removal. Like all teeth, wisdom teeth develop inside an opening (socket) in your jaw, protected by bone and gum tissue until they erupt. Over time, your wisdom teeth become more firmly anchored in your jaw as their roots lengthen and the jawbone becomes more dense. So, the older you are, the more difficult it is to remove your wisdom teeth.


Wisdom Teeth Problems. Whether your wisdom teeth cause your mouth harm depends on several factors, including the size of your jaw, and how your wisdom teeth grow in. Sometimes problem wisdom teeth cause symptoms like pain and swelling. Or you may have no symptoms at all, but the other teeth in your mouth can be at risk for damage.


Gum Disease. When a wisdom tooth partially breaks through the gum’s surface, bacteria can get under the flap, causing an infection in the gum. Poor position. A wisdom tooth that grows toward the cheek can irritate nearby tissue. If an erupted tooth is crooked, it may be hard to clean and can even make it hard to bite down.


Crowding. An impacted or erupting wisdom tooth can push on adjacent teeth, causing them to become crooked or even damaging them structurally.


Cysts. If the sac that holds the crown remains in the bone, it can fill with fluid, forming a cyst that can destroy surrounding bone.


Decay. A wisdom tooth that is hard to keep clean because of its position or because it Is partially covered by gum tissue may fall victim to cavity causing bacteria.