Wisdom Teeth and Evolution

Ever wonder why we have wisdom teeth, aka third molars, if there isn't enough room for them? What's the point of having them if we don't need them?  Well, to get the answer we must look to our ancestors...

About 100 million years ago, our ancestors looked a little more like Jay Leno on all fours (sorry, we do love Jay!).  That is to say they had much larger jaws to accommodate more teeth, which were crucial to survival in the prehistoric world.  Teeth were used not only for grinding and chewing up food, but also catching it!  The 'extra' teeth helped break down raw meat as well as tough roots and leaves, and because dentists weren't around back then to keep everybody in line, if a tooth were to rot out or get lost in a fight for dinner, it was okay because they had backup.

Once prehistoric man started walking on two legs, his hands were freed up to do things like catch prey (and maybe give a high-five or two), making those larger jaws a bit unnecessary.  Eventually the jaw reflected this change and became smaller and shorter, and when fire was discovered, dinner became softer (if the family had a good cook that is).  Thus the beloved wisdom teeth are no longer really utilized, not to mention there just isn't much room for them in our modern puny mouths.  So if you only have two or three wisdom teeth, don't let your friends with four (or maybe even five) tell you that you're not as wise as they are... you can tell them that you're just more evolved.  So there!

If you're a little less evolved and need your third molars removed, don't hesitate to make an appointment!

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