Wisdom tooth - wikipedia Wisdom tooth This article is about the anatomy of wisdom teeth. For wisdom teeth removal surgery, see Impacted wisdom teeth. For the upcoming Hong Kong film, see Wisdom Tooth ( film ). Wisdom tooth Wisdom teeth 3D CT of an impacted wisdom tooth near the inferior alveolar nerve Identifiers TA A05. 1.03. 008 Anatomical terminology ( edit on Wikidata ) A wisdom tooth or third molar is one of the three molars per quadrant of the human dentition. It is the most posterior of the three. Wisdom teeth generally erupt between the ages of 17 and 25. Most adults have four wisdom teeth, one in each of the four quadrants, but it is possible to have fewer or more, in which case the extras are called supernumerary teeth. Wisdom teeth commonly affect other teeth as they develop, becoming impacted. They are often extracted when or even before this occurs. Contents 1 Anatomy 1.1 Variation 2 Function 3 Clinical significance 4 History 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Anatomy Main article : Human tooth Variation Agenesis of wisdom teeth differs by population, ranging from practically zero in Aboriginal Tasmanians to nearly 100 % in indigenous Mexicans ( see research paper with world map showing prevalence ). The difference is related to the PAX9 gene ( and perhaps other genes ). Function See also : Human vestigiality Wisdom teeth are vestigial third molars that helped human ancestors to grind plant tissue. It is thought that the skulls of human ancestors had larger jaws with more teeth, which possibly helped to chew foliage to compensate for a lack of ability to efficiently digest the cellulose that makes up a plant cell wall. After the advent of agriculture 10,000 years ago, soft human diets became the norm, including carbohydrate and high energy foods. Such diets typically result in jaws growing with less forwards growth than our paleolithic ancestors and not enough room for the wisdom teeth. Clinical significance See also : Dental extraction and Impacted wisdom teeth A wisdom tooth protrudes outwards from the gumline with inflamed tissue at the back ( pericoronitis ; green arrow ) Wisdom teeth ( often notated clinically as M3 for third molar ) have long been identified as a source of problems and continue to be the most commonly impacted teeth in the human mouth. The oldest known impacted wisdom tooth belonged to a European woman of the Magdalenian period ( 18,000 -- 10,000 BCE ). A lack of room to allow the teeth to erupt results in a risk of periodontal disease and dental cavities that increases with age. Less than 2 % of adults age 65 years or older maintain the teeth without cavities or periodontal disease and 13 % maintain unimpacted wisdom teeth without cavities or periodontal disease. Some problems which may or may not occur with third molars : A Mesio - impacted, partially erupted mandibular third molar, B Dental caries and periodontal defects associated with both the third and second molars, caused by food packing and poor access to oral hygiene methods, C Inflamed operculum covering partially erupted lower third molar, with accumulation of food debris and bacteria underneath, D The upper third molar has over-erupted due to lack of opposing tooth contact, and may start to traumatically occlude into the operculum over the lower third molar. Unopposed teeth are usually sharp because they have not been blunted by another tooth. Impacted wisdom teeth are classified by the direction and depth of impaction, the amount of available space for tooth eruption and the amount soft tissue or bone that covers them. The classification structure allows clinicians to estimate the probabilities of impaction, infections and complications associated with wisdom teeth removal. Wisdom teeth are also classified by the presence of symptoms and disease. Treatment of an erupted wisdom tooth is the same as any other tooth in the mouth. If impacted, treatment can be localized to the infected tissue overlying the impaction, extraction or coronectomy. The upper left ( picture right ) and upper right ( picture left ) wisdom teeth are distoangularly impacted. The lower left wisdom tooth is horizontally impacted. The lower right wisdom tooth is vertically impacted ( unidentifiable in orthopantomogram ). History Although formally known as third molars, the common name is wisdom teeth because they appear so late -- much later than the other teeth, at an age where people are presumably `` wiser '' than as a child, when the other teeth erupt. The term probably came as a translation of the Latin dens sapientiae. Their eruption has been known to cause dental issues for centuries ; it was noted at least as far back as Aristotle : The last teeth to come in man are molars called ' wisdom - teeth ', which come at the age of twenty years, in the case of both sexes. Cases have been known in women upwards of eighty years old where at the very close of life the wisdom - teeth have come up, causing great pain in their coming ; and cases have been known of the like phenomenon in men too. This happens, when it does happen, in the case of people where the wisdom - teeth have not come up in early years. -- Aristotle, The History of Animals See also Dentistry portal This article uses anatomical terminology ; for an overview, see Anatomical terminology. References Jump up ^ `` Wisdom Teeth ''. American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 28. This generally occurs between the ages of 17 and 25 Jump up ^ Rozkovcová, E. ; Marková, M. ; Dolejší, J. ( 1999 ). `` Studies on agenesis of third molars amongst populations of different origin ''. Sborník lékařský. 100 ( 2 ) : 71 -- 84. PMID 11220165. Jump up ^ Pereira, Tiago V. ; Salzano, Francisco M. ; Mostowska, Adrianna ; Trzeciak, Wieslaw H. ; Ruiz - Linares, Andrés ; Chies, José A.B. ; Saavedra, Carmen ; Nagamachi, Cleusa ; et al. ( 2006 ). `` Natural selection and molecular evolution in primate PAX9 gene, a major determinant of tooth development ''. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 ( 15 ) : 5676 -- 81. Bibcode : 2006PNAS... 103.5676 P. doi : 10.1073 / pnas. 0509562103. JSTOR 30050159. PMC 1458632. PMID 16585527. Jump up ^ Cooper, Rachele ( February 5, 2007 ). `` Why Do We Have Wisdom Teeth ? ''. Scienceline.org. Archived from the original on 2016 - 05 - 03. Jump up ^ von Cramon - Taubadel, Noreen ( 2011 - 12 - 06 ). `` Global human mandibular variation reflects differences in agricultural and hunter - gatherer subsistence strategies ''. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 ( 49 ) : 19546 -- 19551. doi : 10.1073 / pnas. 1113050108. ISSN 0027 - 8424. PMC 3241821. PMID 22106280. Jump up ^ `` Magdalenian Girl is a woman and therefore has oldest recorded case of impacted wisdom teeth '' ( Press release ). Field Museum of Natural History. March 7, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Juodzbalys, Gintaras ; Daugela, Povilas ( Apr -- Jun 2013 ). `` Mandibular Third Molar Impaction : Review of Literature and a Proposal of a Classification ( review ) ''. J Oral Maxillofac Res. 4 ( 2 ) : e1. doi : 10.5037 / jomr. 2013.4201. PMC 3886113. PMID 24422029. Jump up ^ Marciani RD ( 2012 ). `` Is there pathology associated with asymptomatic third molars ( review ) ''. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 70 ( Suppl 1 ) : 15 -- 19. doi : 10.1016 / j. joms. 2012.04. 025. Jump up ^ Dodson TB ( Sep 2012 ). `` The management of the asymptomatic, disease - free wisdom tooth : removal versus retention. ( review ) ''. Atlas Oral Maxillofac Surg Clin North Am. 20 ( 2 ) : 169 -- 76. doi : 10.1016 / j. cxom. 2012.06. 005. PMID 23021394. Jump up ^ Newman MG, Takei HH, Klokkevold PR, Carranza FA ( 2012 ). Carranza 's Clinical Periodontology. Elsevier Saunders. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4377 - 0416 - 7. Jump up ^ Pogrel MA ( 2012 ). `` What are the Risks of Operative Intervention ( review ) ''. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 70 ( Suppl 1 ) : 33 -- 36. Jump up ^ Ghaeminia H ( 2013 ). `` Coronectomy may be a way of managing impacted third molars ( systematic review ) ''. Evid Based Dent. 14 ( 2 ) : 57 -- 8. doi : 10.1038 / sj. ebd. 6400939. PMID 23792405. Jump up ^ `` Wisdom tooth ''. Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford : Oxford University Press. 1989. ISBN 0 - 19 - 861186 - 2. Jump up ^ Aristotle ( 2015 ). The History of Animals. Translated by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson. Aeterna Press. p. 49. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wisdom teeth. National Institute of Clinical Health and Excellence Guideline to Wisdom teeth removal Wisdom tooth extraction WebMD article Dental anatomy Teeth Permanent incisor canine premolar molar Deciduous Maxillary teeth Incisor Central incisor Lateral incisor Canine Premolar First premolar Second premolar Molar First molar Second molar Third molar Mandibular teeth Incisor Central incisor Lateral incisor Canine Premolar First premolar Second premolar Molar First molar Second molar Third molar Parts Crown Cusp Cusp of Carabelli Zuckerkandl 's tubercle Pulp Root canal Apical foramen Cementoenamel junction Enamel Dental - enamel junction Dentin Dental papilla Mamelon Dental alveolus GND : 4189482 - 0 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wisdom_tooth&oldid=815125885 '' Categories : Types of teeth Vestigial organs Human mouth anatomy Acute pain Supernumerary body parts Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Avañe'ẽ Azərbaycanca Bân - lâm - gú Bosanski Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch ދިވެހިބަސް Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français 한국어 हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 12 December 2017, at 22 : 28. 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Question: where does the term wisdom teeth come from
Answer: because they appear so late – much later than the other teeth, at an age where people are presumably "wiser" than as a child, when the other teeth erupt