While teeth play an essential role in our daily lives, we are left with few extra teeth from our stone age ancestors. Here is the problem, our brain is increasing in size, our jaw is decreasing in size but our teeth have remained the same number.
Researchers discovered that genes controlling brain development were responsible for a stage of evolution that occurred thousands of years ago. The human brain grew in size during this phase of evolution, which caused a lack of space at the jawline. The genes that regulate tooth development didn’t evolve to accommodate this stage of evolution, which led to impacted third molars and the eruption through the gums of wisdom teeth.
Our third molars AKA Wisdom Teeth develop around age 18-25 and for most people there isn’t sufficient space left in the jaw for their eruption. They often create problems for our other molars and our . Did you know that each year around 5 million Americans spend over 3 billion dollars to remove their wisdom teeth?
If you like to know more scientific details, they are important fossils that have allowed researchers to learn more about our ancestors’ and evolutionary history. In Finland, a 2007 study led to the development of a mathematical formula that can trace the evolution of human teeth. This formula can be used to identify people who are not born with wisdom teeth. Researchers will use the same formula to study how other parts of our bodies function.
Most people have four wisdom teeth. However, some people only have one or two wisdom teeth. Some lucky ones have none. You might be able to have all four if you are really fortunate.
WHAT CAUSES WISDOM TEETH TO BECOME MISSING?
Missing wisdom teeth is caused by a random gene mutation that occurred almost 400,000 years ago. This mutation caused the suppression of wisdom tooth formation in a few people – something that is still common today.
Researchers discovered that genes controlling brain development were responsible for a stage of evolution that occurred thousands of years ago. The human brain grew in size during this phase of evolution, which caused a lack of space at the jawline. The genes that regulate tooth development didn’t evolve to accommodate this stage of evolution, which led to impacted third molars and the eruption through the gums of wisdom teeth.
Fossils show that the first humans to live on Earth had molars much larger than they are today. Evolution altered this pattern and the first molars in the set became the largest. Studies show that the future generation will not have wisdom teeth as we evolve.
WISDOM TEETH: PROBLEMS
If wisdom teeth don’t align properly with other teeth, it can cause problems. While they may not present any problems for many years, wisdom teeth that are impacted could cause serious issues and need to be extracted.
This surgery is not performed by all doctors. It requires that the surgeon has extensive experience in wisdom tooth removal due to close proximity to facial nerves. A general dentist might refer you to an Oral Surgeon for removal or an orthodontist for proper alignment if your wisdom tooth is located very close to the nerve.
The surgeon will need to take X-rays to determine the extent of the problem. The surgery may not be necessary if the wisdom tooth is well aligned and you have a good bite.
