Wisdom teeth refer to the four third molars in the human oral cavity, the innermost, upper, lower, left and right sides of the alveolar bone. Because these four third molars began to erupt at the age of 20, when people’s physical and psychological development was close to maturity, so they were regarded as a symbol of “the arrival of wisdom”, so they were called “wisdom teeth” – wisdom teeth tooth. In fact, from the point of view of modern medicine, wisdom teeth are inevitable in human evolution. As we all know, “survival of the fittest” is a universal law in biological evolution. Wisdom teeth are an excellent example.
Wisdom teeth, scientific name third molars, commonly known as wisdom teeth, standing teeth, end teeth, are the teeth closest to the throat in the mouth, if all grow out, a total of 4, two in each upper and lower jaw, usually grow at the age of 16 or later come out. In contrast to milk teeth that grow in infancy and permanent teeth that are replaced in childhood, wisdom teeth usually appear when the human mind has matured, hence the name. In terms of the growth of wisdom teeth, there are great individual differences. Some people grow before the age of 20, some people only grow in their 40s and 50s, and some people do not grow in their entire lives. This is normal. Moreover, all four wisdom teeth are not necessarily full. Some people may only have 1 to 2 wisdom teeth, and some wisdom teeth may not grow even half way. This is called impacted wisdom teeth. The position of the wisdom teeth starts from the gap between the incisors, and the number of teeth is counted from one incisor to the inside. If there is an eighth tooth, it is a wisdom tooth. The incidence of impacted wisdom teeth is relatively high, and its harm is mainly manifested in the following points.
(1) Recurrent pericoronitis. A blind pocket is formed between the soft tissue around the crown of the impacted wisdom tooth and the teeth, causing the accumulation of food and bacteria. When the resistance decreases, pericoronitis is inevitable. General anti-inflammatory treatment treats the symptoms but not the root cause, so pericoronitis will recur.
(2) caries. The misplaced wisdom teeth and the second molars are prone to accumulation of food residues, and it is not easy to clean. Generally, dental caries can form in a few months, directly destroying the tooth tissue.
(3) Impacted wisdom teeth often cannot establish a normal occlusal relationship with the opposing teeth, which can lead to temporomandibular joint snapping, mouth pain, night grinding and other symptoms for a long time, which has a great impact on the physical and mental health of young adults.
(4) There is evidence that some impacted wisdom teeth are the focus of some trigeminal neuralgia.
The jawbone that houses the teeth continues to degenerate and shrink, so impacted wisdom teeth are an inevitable result. The removal of impacted wisdom teeth has no adverse effect on mastication, speech and other functions, and extraction is the most effective way to treat impacted wisdom teeth. Therefore, it is recommended to remove impacted wisdom teeth that cause the above hazards as soon as possible and decisively.
