The way my orthodontist explained it was that over time, our mouths have evolved to be smaller yet we still have the same amount of teeth. He said that if you're one of those lucky people whose jaws are big enough to facilitate four extra molars, you don't have to worry about it; if not, cramped wisdom teeth can cause impactions, come in sideways, crowd the rest of your teeth to the point that they become crooked and "tombstoned" (like lopsided headstones in a very old, untended graveyard).
Then he proceeded to remove my molars and let my wisdoms grow in and replace them, so maybe he was just nuts, I dunno.
> Then he proceeded to remove my molars and let my wisdoms grow in and replace them, so maybe he was just nuts, I dunno.
Can imagine valid reason to opt for wisdom tooth instead of existing molar. For example the molar can be damaged already, or easier taken out. IANAD though (I Am Not A Dentist :-).
yes one guy talked about "crowding" vaguely but my other teeth weren't going sideways or becoming crooked so when I drilled down (ha) into the conversation it sort of petered out.
Mine were causing me pain and the wisdom tooth was surfacing at times where you could see it come out of the gums then it would subside below the gum line. On x-ray one was almost horizontal pushing into my back molar. My dentist always said if your wisdom teeth don’t cause you any bother then leave them. But mine hurt bad. I have heard wisdom teeth are there to fill in gaps when we lost a tooth like it would push other teeth towards each other if you lost a tooth. But this is something I learned as a kid never actually saw proof this is their function.
For a long time I thought I was going to keep mine but then they started getting infected, after a few rounds of that I had them out and no issues since.
It's a fairly common sequence of events as far as I'm aware
But every dentist I've had - every - has asked about taking out my wisdom teeth.
And not one of them could give me a good justification. I still have them.
A legitimate reason MIGHT be you can't be a navy seal if you have your wisdom teeth because apparently something with deep diving affects them. :)