what are wisdom teeth?
The most common dental extraction is for wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth, or third molars, are the last to come in and the most frequent cause of problems. Most often, they are trapped in the jawbone or gums and fail to come in at all. These impacted teeth can cause many problems: they may grow sideways, partially emerge from the gum, even remain trapped beneath the gum and bone.
Wisdom teeth are third molars. Normally people have three permanent molars that develop in each quadrant of the mouth; upper, lower, right and left. The first molars usually grow into the mouth at around six years of age. The second molars grow in at around age 12. The third molars usually will try to grow in at around age 18 to 20 years. Since that is considered to be the age when people become wiser, third molars gained the nickname, “wisdom teeth.” Actually, they are no different than any other tooth except that they are the last teeth to erupt, or grow into the mouth. They are just as useful as any other tooth if they grow in properly, have a proper bite relationship, and have healthy gum tissue around them. Unfortunately, this does not always happen.
Wisdom teeth are the upper and lower third molars, located at the very back of the mouth. They are called wisdom teeth because usually they come in when a person is between age 17 and 21 or older—old enough to have gained some “wisdom.” Wisdom teeth that are healthy and properly positioned do not cause problems. What causes problems with wisdom teeth? Wisdom teeth may break partway through your gums, causing a flap of gum tissue to grow over them where food can become trapped and a gum infection can develop. Wisdom teeth can also come in crooked or facing the wrong direction. Or, if your jaw is not large enough to give them room, wisdom teeth may become impacted and unable to break through your gums. You may have trouble properly cleaning around wisdom teeth because they are so far in the back of your mouth and may be crowded. What are the symptoms of wisdom tooth problems? Wisdom teeth often cause no symptoms.
Wisdom teeth are third molars that will try to grow in at around age 18 to 20 years. Since that is considered to be the age when people become wiser, third molars gained the nickname, “wisdom teeth.” They are just as useful as any other tooth if they grow in properly, have a proper bite relationship, and have healthy gum tissue around them. Unfortunately, this does not always happen.
Wisdom teeth are third molars and people generally have three permanent molars in the upper right, upper left, lower right and lower left areas of the mouth. The first molars “grow” at about age 6, the second around age 12 and the third around ages 18-20 – a maturation time when people are considered to be wiser, hence the name.
