From infancy through adolescence, every individual develops the first set of their teeth, eventually lose them over time, and get a new set of teeth twice. The third set, which will later emerge a little later, in early adulthood, will be the final set that one can have.
When Can I Have Them?
In the ages between 17 and 21, young adults will develop this final set of molars that is commonly called wisdom teeth. Having one wisdom teeth can already be inconvenient to a person, thus wisdom tooth extraction, which involves pulling out a wisdom tooth by means of small surgery has now become the trend and the only solution for the inconvenience that most people experience from having wisdom tooth.
Teeth have their own different functions and wisdom teeth are flatter, which functions to grind food, are also called molars, while sharper teeth are called incisors and canines. Molars can be found in the back portion of the mouth, and humans can have them thrice a set on top, bottom, and both sides of the mouth in their entire life.
The first set, which is commonly composed of 20 teeth, will erupt at an early age and will eventually fall out, followed by this is another set of 32 teeth that will permanently grow. The first molars will be visible when a child becomes 6 years old, while the second set of molars will be visible at the age of 12. The third and final set, which are mostly unnecessary, are called wisdom teeth, and are commonly pulled and extracted.
Why Do I Have Them?
Most of the scientist believe that wisdom teeth had been usable for the early primates to crush and grind hard foods like nuts and meat. However, as our species evolve, so does our means of eating. Humans have found ways to use tools in order to cook the food to soften it, as well as utensils to crush and cut, thus, leaving wisdom teeth completely unusable.
In addition to this, according to anthropologists, no matter how wisdom teeth have become irrelevant in our food eating process, half of the adult population still develop their wisdom teeth, especially male adults.
Why Are They Removed?
According to scientists, the brain gets bigger and bigger as humans evolve, and this also induces evolutionary changes to the jaws. The jaws become smaller over time to provide space and accommodate the growing brain mass in the skull. As the jaw tries to accommodate space for the brain, the number of teeth has also changed over time. This makes the third set of molars become irrelevant as time progresses and evolution does its job.
The jaw will be completely developed at the age of 18, while the wisdom teeth can emerge between late 19 until early 22, and most problems such as inconvenience and infection happen because the jaw is not incapable of accommodating this final set of molars.
To prevent these problems, extraction of these wisdom teeth is advised and most of the time necessitated. In addition to this, the surgery can be crucial that each case needs to be analyzed before the actual operation happens, as it might cause complications.
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