2006-12-26 16:51:30 · 17 answers · asked by Crazy Horse 3 in Health ➔ Dental
My most educated guess is that our ancestors had both 1) the need for them and 2) a large enough jaw to accommodate them. Most people have neither.
There are a small minority of my patients who actually have enough room for them, and do a good job keeping them clean. Not that I would ever tell them they had a big mouth :)
2006-12-26 17:04:40 · answer #1 · answered by theSimpleTooth 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question. We used to have, I bet more than the two sets of molars. The 3rd set is the wisdom teeth. Did we have 4th molars or more billions of years ago?
That was the time we needed them to gnash and masticate our food.
We lost them when we discovered cutting implements, metal and cooking (softens the food)
A few people are born without wisdom teeth or have room in their mouths for them
Wisdom teeth therefore are vestigial from the ancient race of men.
2006-12-26 17:01:21 · answer #2 · answered by QuiteNewHere 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think I read somewhere that early humans had much larger mouths. Back then their wisdom teeth fit and also they ate much more meat than we do now because they were hunters. They needed those strong back teeth to chew all the meat they were consuming.
But humans nowadays eat much less meat and our mouth has shrunk accordingly, but the widsom teeth are still there.
2006-12-26 17:05:06 · answer #3 · answered by shrimpylicious 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They would look funny if they grew out the backs of our hands. Seriously though, it isn't that they aren't needed. It's because our mouths are getting smaller because our diet is more nutritious. I've heard that wisdom tooth extraction isn't necessary in a lot of cases though, but it's a cash cow for the dentists. Like removing tonsils used to be a cash cow for surgeons.
2006-12-26 16:58:45 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Think of all the people in Africa, Chad, and Haiti, all of these people don't have proper dental hygeine, and because of that, their teeth fall out. Wisdom teeth are there, and come in later age because that is when most people of poorer countries would lose their teeth. The wisdom teeth are there to provide teeth in the gums that have lost the old ones due to rot, plaque, or fights.
Hope I helped some.
2006-12-26 16:55:42 · answer #5 · answered by sand_illusions 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its just a carryover from a time when we needed them. Humans, like all animals, are constantly evolving. Thousands of years ago we needed extra molars for chewing tough vegetable matter. Eventually wisdom teeth will be phased out, and babies will be born without them, but it may take thousands of years.
2006-12-26 16:56:10 · answer #6 · answered by kaputt_18 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
why can't we find the answers to all kinds of questions, some people keep there wisdom teeth
2006-12-26 16:53:35 · answer #7 · answered by Cassie M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is because evolution has made our mouths smaller-but we still get the same amount of teeth-the next step is that we wont get wisdom teeth anymore
2006-12-26 16:52:54 · answer #8 · answered by PAUL F 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
we used to (a hell of a long time ago) depend on different foods for survival ( a lot more raw or fresh meat) we now have cultivated substitutes that are easier to produce and just as healthy, but we have the vestiges of our old "tools": our meat grinding teeth.
2006-12-26 16:55:15 · answer #9 · answered by foghnanross 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's due to evolution, we needed them way back when....now that there not needed anymore, there becoming useless(only in the way) till the day they stop appearing all together! Not sure we will be around to see that, but someone will...
2006-12-26 16:57:35 · answer #10 · answered by Aces 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋