Some people require their wisdom teeth to be removed following orthodontic treatment with braces. Often the timing of the eruption of wisdom teeth coincides with the removal of braces. It is often difficult to determine if someone will have the space in their mouth for their wisdom teeth to erupt or if the wisdom will become impacted. A very unusual situation recently occurred when an upside wisdom tooth was discovered on an x-ray taken before starting orthodontic treatment with braces. The x-ray shows that the lower wisdom tooth is upside down and is very unlikely to erupt successfully.

Not everyone has wisdom teeth though. Their congenital absence is common in Eskimos and American Indians. Some researchers believe that wisdom teeth loss is a sign of higher evolutionary development in humans. However, the Neolithic man found after being frozen in the Austrian/Italian Alps for 5000 years had no wisdom teeth. Thus unfortunately those people cannot claim on the basis of missing wisdom teeth to have superior development characteristics.

The content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. Allstar Orthodontics does not make any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the content.

The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional personal diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your dentist or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a dental or medical condition. Never disregard professional advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read or seen on the Site.

Services We Mentioned:

Related Articles