If you have ever had the experience of these massive random teeth growing in the back of your mouth, going to the dentist, and being told they need to be removed, then you are merely one of millions of people who have had the joy of getting their wisdom teeth removed. Honestly, no one ever tells you what the heck wisdom teeth are or why they are so dead set on growing in the back of your mouth and screwing everything up. For me personally, I had to get my wisdom teeth removed just over a month ago. It was a pretty grueling experience and not something I would recommend doing on the weekend for fun. However, medical advancements in our modern world have made life so much easier, and it is truly incredible what we are able to do with modern medicine. Even in the world of dentistry, things are now easier and convenient compared to any other time in history. What a time to be alive! It is weird to think that things will continue to get better with time, and we will live to see even greater advancements in the world of dentistry and medicine.
So after I got my wisdom teeth taken out, I was curious as to why they actually are even a thing. Wisdom teeth are weird because it seems that not everyone has them, but if you do have them, you almost certainly get them removed at some point. This started to beg the question in my head, “what did people do with wisdom teeth before modern medicine?”. Because I’m sure it would not be nearly the same experience to have your wisdom teeth pulled 200 years ago as it is today. Did people just live with painful, unnecessary, misshapen teeth in the back of their mouths for centuries? I was genuinely curious, so I decided to do a little research of my own to figure out the truth behind wisdom teeth. This is what I found:
First of all, I thought it was important to tell you that these teeth are called wisdom teeth because they are the last adult teeth to grow into your mouth; hence, the teeth that will grow when you are allegedly the wisest. Wisdom teeth also generally have the same function as molars. More specifically, they are flat teeth used for crushing strong objects, unlike our pointy teeth that are used for stabbing and tearing or something like that. It is said that wisdom teeth were once essential for people, since there was not a lot of cooking or utensil-using in the early days of humanity. I guess it makes sense that an extra set of molars are necessary for eating a diet of wild nuts and seeds. But in our day and age we simply don’t need them.
To answer my question about how people in history could deal with wisdom teeth if they are such a pain for us, I continued my research rabbit hole. What I found is that people tended to have larger jaws the further back in history you go. For whatever evolutionary reason, our jaws have gotten smaller with time and thus cannot always afford the space necessary to house those massive wisdom teeth in back. Hope this is interesting to you, go to the dentist to check out your own wisdom teeth!
Hygienic Tooth 