Every person gets their wisdom teeth in their late teenage or early twenties. That’s why these teeth are considered dental latecomers. Have you ever considered their role in our mouths when they come late? Wisdom teeth, also known as the third molar, are a common point of discussion among dentists.
In this article, let’s find out the benefits of keeping wisdom teeth and explore whether it’s necessary to remove them or not.
What are Wisdom Teeth?
Windom teeth are the third molar that are being grown at the back side of the mouth. They are usually grown between 17-25 years of age. In rare cases, some people can experience growing wisdom teeth in their late twenties. There is no connection between these teeth and the smartness of the person. They are called by that name because they grow late.
Some adults may not have wisdom teeth, and some may get one or two wisdom teeth among four. Even though all wisdom teeth don’t cause problems, some may cause pain infection due to their misalignment.
In such cases, removing them is advisable. However, there are many benefits of keeping wisdom teeth when they are not causing any type of problems or uneasiness. Especially when you maintain good oral hygiene, you can keep them.
Benefits of Keeping Wisdom Teeth
Keeping wisdom teeth in their place will have the following benefits.
1. Maintaining the Structure of The Face
The structure of your mouth is incredibly maintained when you keep your properly positioned wisdom teeth. Each tooth contributes to the stability of neighboring teeth. This balance may be disrupted when wisdom teeth are extracted, causing other teeth to shift.
There are more concerns with this transition than just looks. Misaligned teeth, also known as malocclusion, can make it difficult to clean certain areas, resulting in decay. Additionally, it could result in problems with the jaw joint and an incorrect bite.
In addition, the absence of chewing stimulation in the empty socket left by a wisdom tooth removal might result in bone loss over time, which could result in structural alterations to the mouth and face.
Thus, keeping your wisdom teeth can help to avoid these problems while also preserving the normal form of your dental structure.
2. Functionality Of Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth are best known for their help in chewing hard foods effectively. Our ancestors used these teeth to grind hard roots and leaves. Even though our eating habits have changed from that of our ancestors, properly aligned wisdom teeth help us in chewing our food.
Additionally, they support other molars so that they don’t misalign from their place. This function, again, will help in the proper chewing of the food by molars.
Wisdom teeth also play a significant role in speech. They are the reason for the proper and clear pronunciation of certain words.
3. Longevity of Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth last longer than remaining molars. When we get older, our teeth will decay one by one. This decay of teeth will affect the effective chewing process. This is where the wisdom teeth help us. They help in grinding and chewing our food.
4. Safeguard From Cavities
Wisdom teeth may even serve as a barrier against front teeth cavities by adding extra protection surrounding molars that are already in place and vulnerable to decay as a result of plaque buildup from bad brushing habits or dietary choices.
5. Reduce Overcrowding
Keeping your wisdom teeth in place can improve your chewing skills and oral hygiene practices by preventing crowding in other parts of the mouth and by enabling additional space to form between teeth.
If you clench your jaw part or grind your teeth under stress, having an extra set of molars gives you an additional surface area to do so without harming your natural teeth or putting excessive strain on your jaw muscles.
Disadvantages of Wisdom Teeth
1. Pain And Discomfort
Remember, not all wisdom teeth cause pain and discomfort after they come out completely. There will be slight pain when they come out of the gums.
However, if they are properly aligned, you usually will not get any pain or discomfort. But, if they are not aligned properly, which is the most common case, it will induce pain and discomfort in your mouth.
This improper growth of wisdom teeth may cause adjacent molars to move from their place, leading to bleeding from the gums, which is also painful.
2. Over Crowding
Overcrowding is another main disadvantage of wisdom teeth. However, this is not always the case. When wisdom teeth overcrowd the adjacent teeth, cleaning the adjacent teeth can be difficult. This can lead to gum diseases or tumors.
3. Infection
We know that wisdom teeth are far behind other molars. This made them reach hard with a toothbrush. This may lead to improper cleaning of the teeth. Improper cleaning obviously leads to gum problems and infections.
As wisdom teeth can come at any angle, cleaning them properly is more likely difficult. This wouldn’t be the case for the wisdom teeth, which come at a similar angle to the remaining molars.
Is it Necessary to Remove Wisdom Teeth?
If you’ve been wondering what you should do about your wisdom teeth, you should know that it is not necessary to remove wisdom teeth for everyone. Actually, many people can keep their wisdom teeth when they don’t feel any discomfort or any adverse effects because of these teeth.
It may be advised to have them removed if they are painful or crowding other teeth. The potential advantages and disadvantages of maintaining or extracting these third molars should be carefully considered when making this choice.
If you decide to keep your wisdom teeth, frequent visits to the dental clinic for examination and cleanings will be essential to keeping good oral health. Your dentist will keep an eye out for any alterations in the tissue around your wisdom teeth and its position during these frequent examinations.
Along with that, brushing twice a day and flossing will lessen decay on nearby teeth and help avoid infection in the region of the tooth and gums. If you follow these points, you can keep wisdom teeth for as long as possible.
Conclusion
Many people believe that wisdom teeth should be removed anyway. But it’s not true. Studies have shown that properly aligned wisdom teeth have their benefits. Until you experience any discomfort or pain, it’s not necessary to remove them, and you can get the benefits of keeping wisdom teeth.