What Is the Purpose of Wisdom Teeth If Dentists Recommend They Should Be Pulled?

A wisdom tooth, also called a third molar, is practically a tooth that no longer has any role in the mouth, a vestigial tooth that is no longer used for chewing or grinding food.

Tens of thousands of years ago, when our ancestors had a diet that was radically different from ours, wisdom teeth were important, but our modern diet does not need the vigorous grinding that our ancestors needed. As a result, the jaw of the modern human has become much smaller, offering smaller space for the teeth to grow in. Wisdom teeth being the last ones to erupt, at ages when the other teeth are fully formed, the space available for these vestigial molars is in many cases insufficient for healthy development.

The uselessness of wisdom teeth, combined with the lack of space is what accounts for the problematic nature of these molars, so often affected by development issues, so prone to decay and infections and so often causing damage to adjacent teeth, in some cases to the entire row of teeth. The most common solution is Highland Park wisdom tooth extraction to these problems – the process is the same as in the case of any other teeth, with the notable difference that wisdom teeth will not be missed at all.