Does Everyone Have Wisdom Teeth? No matter what type of teeth you have, there’s a good chance you will eventually have to deal with wisdom teeth. These molars generally come in during late adolescence or early adulthood, and the most common treatments for them are either extraction or removal. But why do we have wisdom teeth in the first place?
A Brief History of Wisdom Teeth
The human jaw has evolved significantly since our hunter-gatherer days. Early humans had relatively small jaws that were filled with all 32 teeth from the time they were children until death, while modern humans’ jaws are much longer and wider. However, even though our jaws are larger now, our teeth haven’t changed much in size — which is why so many people end up with “impacted” wisdom teeth (where there isn’t enough room for them to grow).
These days, most people only have 28 teeth when they’re children because their four wisdom teeth don’t begin to come in until they’re teenagers. The result is that many people don’t even know they have wisdom teeth until an x-ray reveals them — although some people may experience pain or other symptoms before then.
Why Do We Have Wisdom Teeth
For many people, wisdom teeth are a source of pain and infection. These third molars only come in during late adolescence or early adulthood, a time when most mouths are already crowded. This is why wisdom teeth are often extracted.
But do we all have them?
The short answer is no: Some people don’t have wisdom teeth at all, and others have fewer than the usual four. In fact, the Mayo Clinic reports that one-quarter of people have no wisdom teeth, and according to the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), 1 in 10 people have more than four.[1] The AGD also notes that only 3 percent of people have all four wisdom teeth grow in fully, without complications.
Not everyone has wisdom teeth. Some people have no wisdom teeth (third molars), while others have one, two, three or four. In fact, it’s possible to not have any of them.
The reason why many people don’t have wisdom teeth is that there is not enough space in their mouths for the teeth to come through properly, according to the American Dental Association. When a person doesn’t have enough room for their third molars, those teeth are called “impacted.” Impacted wisdom teeth often get stuck in the jawbone or gums and can lead to infections.
Even if your mouth appears to be large enough for your wisdom teeth, they may still become impacted and need to be removed because the nerve that controls feeling in the lower lip passes very close to the roots of these teeth, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). This can put pressure on the nerves that control feeling on the lips and tongue.
Impacted wisdom teeth tend to cause more problems than regular ones. For example, an impacted tooth may grow sideways into surrounding tissues or even toward another tooth. The tissue around an impacted tooth often becomes swollen and painful, leading to infection. An infection in this area causes “per
Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that emerge in the back corners of your mouth – usually in your late teens to mid-20s.
Because wisdom teeth are the last teeth to erupt, there is often not enough room left in your mouth for them to fully emerge. Instead, they can become impacted or misaligned and must be removed by a dentist or oral surgeon.
Not all people have wisdom teeth. In fact, some people have one, two, three or even none!
The answer is that not everyone needs to have their wisdom teeth removed. Wisdom teeth are the third molars, and they are the last teeth to erupt into the mouth.
They typically come through between 17 and 25 years of age and there are four of them; two at the top and two at the bottom. Not everyone develops wisdom teeth, but when they do it is usually when they are older.
Sometimes people develop enough space in their jaw for the wisdom teeth to come through without causing any problems. If this occurs, then there is no need to have your wisdom teeth removed. However, in most cases there isn’t enough room for them to erupt properly and this can cause some issues.
Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to erupt in the mouth, usually appearing between late teens and early twenties. Some people have wisdom teeth that never cause any problems and they do not need to have them removed. However most people will suffer from pain and swelling caused by impacted or ‘bunged-up’ wisdom teeth.
Often there is not enough room for wisdom teeth to grow into the correct position in the mouth, or they may only come through partially. This can cause pain, discomfort and infection of the gum. Impacted wisdom teeth may also damage adjacent molar teeth by pushing them out of their correct position. If a wisdom tooth is causing problems your dentist may recommend that it be removed while you are young, before any damage is done to other teeth or jaw structures.
Everyone has four third molars, commonly known as wisdom teeth. They generally erupt between the ages of 17 and 25. Since wisdom teeth are seldom needed, and if any symptoms are present it is normally due to impaction (when the tooth is prevented from breaking through the gum), they are often removed.
Is it Normal Not to Have Wisdom Teeth?
Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that people get in their late teens or early twenties. Sometimes these teeth can be a valuable asset to the mouth when healthy and properly aligned, but more often, they are misaligned and require removal.
Why do wisdom teeth need to come out?
Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, generally erupt between ages 17 and 21. When there is adequate space in the mouth for these permanent teeth to grow into proper alignment, wisdom teeth may not cause any problems. However, most people do not have room for the additional molars, which causes them to become impacted (or trapped within the jawbone). Impacted wisdom teeth often require extraction since they are difficult to brush and clean and create ideal conditions for tooth decay. Some wisdom teeth don’t erupt at all.
Are there any problems associated with not having wisdom teeth?
If you do not have wisdom teeth, you won’t experience any problems associated with their eruption or impaction. In most cases, not having wisdom teeth is no cause for concern; it is simply a variation of normal dental anatomy.
Yes, it’s very normal not to have wisdom teeth. They’re the last teeth to come in, and if there’s no room, they can be impacted (stuck below the gum line). People who don’t have enough room for them, or who have problems with them, often have them removed.
Some people never get wisdom teeth, and some people don’t need all four of them extracted. Your dentist will be able to tell you whether or not you need any of your wisdom teeth removed.
Some people never get wisdom teeth. This is perfectly normal, and not something to worry about. The amount of space in your jaw dictates whether or not you can have wisdom teeth. If you don’t have the space, they simply won’t grow in.
Unlike some conditions that are associated with missing wisdom teeth, like impacted wisdom teeth or gum disease caused by overcrowding, there’s nothing wrong with having a smaller mouth. It’s actually a genetic trait that you inherited from your parents!
If you’re worried about your wisdom teeth, talk to an oral surgeon for an evaluation. They can let you know if you’re set for life without wisdom teeth or if other problems could be causing them to remain hidden inside your jaw!
No, it’s not normal.
The vast majority of people have wisdom teeth. About 30% of people don’t have one or more of them (usually the third molars), but only about 1-2% of people are completely missing all four wisdom teeth.
It is very difficult to estimate how many people are born without wisdom teeth, because there’s no way to tell which babies will have their wisdom teeth erupt and which ones won’t. So since you can’t know for sure which babies don’t have any until they’re teenagers, it’s almost impossible to estimate the true prevalence of agenesis of all four wisdom teeth.
How can anyone tell if they have wisdom teeth or not?
Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars most people get in their late teens or early twenties. If a wisdom tooth doesn’t have room to grow (impacted wisdom tooth), resulting in pain, infection or other dental problems, you’ll probably want to have it pulled.
Although the average person has four wisdom teeth — one in each corner of the mouth — it’s possible to have more, fewer or even none at all.
It’s probably not important whether you have your wisdom teeth or not. Wisdom teeth don’t serve any real purpose, and removing them doesn’t seem to cause any long-term oral health problems.
If an impacted wisdom tooth is causing problems, however, your dentist may suggest having it removed. This can usually be done with local anesthesia on an outpatient basis.
Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. Having wisdom teeth is actually quite rare, and their absence is not something you should worry about. The vast majority of people who do have wisdom teeth will end up having them removed because they are not positioned correctly to come through properly, or because they become impacted (meaning they grow sideways or only partially emerge). In some cases, they can cause pain and infection and require removal.
It is unusual for people to experience wisdom tooth problems at a young age. It’s important to note that if you have no wisdom teeth, you don’t need to worry about this possibility, but if you do have them, it’s worth keeping an eye on them to check whether they’re growing into your gums correctly.
The average person has 32 teeth, which includes the wisdom teeth. But some people are born without these so-called third molars, and others have them extracted before they ever erupt through the gums.
Wisdom teeth don’t always develop in pairs. The fourth molars can erupt in the upper and lower jaws singly or in any combination of one to four teeth. Some people are born with only one wisdom tooth, or none at all.
The process of tooth development begins very early, even when a person is still a fetus. It’s normal for a child to be born without any visible teeth because these first teeth don’t usually appear until a child is about six months old. After that, the baby’s primary (or deciduous) teeth begin to emerge as the permanent teeth form under the gums.
These adult teeth continue to develop over time, with all 32 permanent adult teeth emerging by the time a teenager turns 25 years old.
The first set of three molars (also known as 12-year molars) start developing around age 6 and emerge just after a child turns 12 years old. By age 17, the second set of third molars — or the wisdom teeth — start developing under the gums and erupt by age 21
Who Has no Wisdom Teeth?
In the days of our early ancestors, wisdom teeth were good things to have. They provided us with a third set of molars, and they helped us to grind up our plant-based diet.
Today, however, wisdom teeth have become more of a problem than a benefit. In fact, 70-85% of all people have their wisdom teeth removed. So who has no wisdom teeth?
It turns out that some people are born without any wisdom teeth at all! This is known as hypodontia. People who are born without their third molars may be able to thank their mother’s genetics for this phenomenon. The gene that is linked to missing wisdom teeth is recessive and could have been passed down from her side of the family.
I have no wisdom teeth. I’m pretty sure it was because my mouth was just too small for them to grow in properly. I didn’t even know until I was about 20 and went to the dentist for a regular checkup and the dentist asked, “Where are your wisdom teeth?”
I have a few friends who also don’t have any. One of them is a friend from high school who I’ve known for over 30 years, and we still joke about it to this day (can you imagine knowing someone for over 30 years?).
As a biological anthropologist, I am interested in exploring the variation of tooth size in humans and other primates. Humans are characterized by small tooth size relative to body size. This is especially true for the third molars, commonly called wisdom teeth. Evolutionary selection has reduced the genetic variation for tooth size in our species, but some people still have wisdom teeth and others do not. I was curious about this variation in my family, so I did a little research.
The first step was to find out if our family members had wisdom teeth or not. It turned out that my wife has no wisdom teeth; her parents also lacked these teeth.
My brother has two wisdom teeth that are fully impacted (stuck below the gum line). His children also have fully impacted wisdom teeth, but they have four per person rather than two like their father. On the other hand, his sister-in-law has one fully impacted wisdom tooth on each side of her jaw, while her husband has three fully impacted wisdom teeth on one side and none on the other side!
My brother and I have three functional wisdom teeth: one is functional on each side of the lower jaw and one functional at the back of the upper jaw between our second molars (the normal number). My father
The wisdom teeth are the last of the adult teeth to develop: they appear between the ages of 17 and 21. But not everyone has four wisdom teeth, and some people have none at all.
The wisdom teeth are so called because they normally appear at a time when a person is supposed to be old enough to ‘wise up’ and to be able to face life’s difficulties with experience and good judgment.
They are also known as third molars. As the last teeth to grow, often there is no room for them in your jaw, or in your existing set of teeth. Sometimes they may be unable to come through properly because they are blocked by another tooth which is already there. In these cases, your dentist may recommend having them removed before you feel any pain from them.
It’s not uncommon for people to have wisdom teeth that don’t cause any problems. I have one myself, and it’s never given me any trouble.
However, it is more common for wisdom teeth to cause problems. What kind of problems? Here are the four most common reasons people get their wisdom teeth removed:
They’re impacted. This means that they haven’t fully broken through the gum because there isn’t enough room in the jaw. An impacted tooth may break through partway or not at all, causing pain, infection and other issues.
They’re growing at a bad angle. Sometimes wisdom teeth grow at an angle that presses against adjacent teeth, causing them to shift out of place and become crooked or crowded. Other times they grow toward the center of the mouth, which can make cleaning difficult and lead to decay or gum disease.
They’re in the way of orthodontic treatment. If you need braces or another type of orthodontic treatment, your dentist will often recommend having your wisdom teeth removed first so that you don’t have to worry about them getting in the way during the treatment process.
They’re coming in anyway and causing pain or other problems. “Pre-emptive” extractions are not as common as they used to
The answer is not just a matter of genes and random variation. According to a new study, the lack of wisdom teeth seems to be the result of interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals.
Wisdom teeth, or third molars, are usually the last teeth to emerge in human mouths. They usually appear around age 17, but can emerge as late as 25.
The problem is that our jaws have grown smaller, leaving less room for wisdom teeth. As a result, they often become impacted and need to be surgically removed.
That’s why researchers from UCLA wondered if there was any evolutionary advantage to having fewer wisdom teeth. They analyzed genomes from more than 2,500 people around the world and found that Asians and Native Americans tend to have one less copy of a gene that’s involved in tooth development than Africans and Europeans do. This suggests that the gene underwent some sort of selection at some point during the past 40,000 years.
Most people have 32 teeth. Sixteen are called maxillary (upper) teeth and sixteen are mandibular (lower) teeth. The upper teeth are smaller than the lower teeth.
The upper front teeth are called incisors, meaning they cut food. The second set of upper teeth (or the first beside the incisors) are called cuspids or canine teeth. These have a sharp point called a cusp that is used for tearing food. Behind the canines are two sets of broad flat grinding teeth, the premolars or bicuspids, and the molars.
The lower front teeth are also incisors; behind them are canines and premolars, followed by three sets of molars.