The final stage of tooth development and the last kinds of teeth that grow, are the wisdom teeth, also called third molars. They typically start emerging in the late teens or early twenties and for many people the arrival of these teeth means unnecessary discomfort, boring dental appointments and in most cases, having them extracted.
“Wisdom teeth are troublesome” has been the prevailing narrative for a long time. People are afraid they will lead to overcrowding in the mouth, disturb the alignment of teeth, or generate nasty infections, and thus think that they are best removed.
However, there exists a growing opinion that, under very specific circumstances, keeping your wisdom teeth intact can be of great benefit to you. This blog post will deal with this topic and lay out the benefits of keeping wisdom teeth.
A Natural Part of Our Anatomy
Everyone gets wisdom teeth; they’re a natural component of the human dental anatomy and have their own specific objective in the oral environment. Our ancestors, for instance, could use the extra molars to bite and grind down rigid plant material and hard foods. Of course, we no longer eat raw fruits or food that is too rigid anymore, and the need for such robust chewing mechanisms has dwindled.
Don’t discount wisdom teeth just yet; they can still be beneficial to some individuals, offering great functionality. For example, people whose molars have been removed because of decay or damage can use their wisdom teeth as an aid in chewing.
Preventing Bone Loss
Most people don’t know this, and it is one of the oft-ignored benefits of keeping wisdom teeth, but your wisdom teeth actually help stimulate and maintain the bone in the jaw. We know that teeth generally stimulate the jawbone through the force exerted during chewing, biting, and the like.
This stimulation is healing and generative for the bone because it keeps bone resorption away—a process where the bone is reabsorbed into the body, which means a decrease in bone mass and density. When teeth are removed, the lack of stimulation can result in bone loss over time, an unfortunate outcome. If you retain your healthy wisdom teeth, there’s a chance that it can help preserve jawbone integrity, reducing the need for bone grafting procedures to compensate for it.
Serving as Natural Replacements
If you’re dealing with lost or extracted teeth, then wisdom teeth can be a great help to you. We can think of this in the case of when the second molar is damaged or decayed beyond the possibility of repair; a wisdom tooth can often align itself into its place, keep up the original, natural alignment of the teeth, and prevent any nasty gaps from occurring where bacteria can make its home.
This is a particularly beneficial and functional occurrence because it avoids any need to have dental prosthetics or implants drilled, which are costly and long and require repeated visits to the dentists.
Reduced Risk of Misalignment
Although many people hold this belief, it’s actually not usually very true, as wisdom teeth don’t always cause teeth to become crooked. Some people do experience crowding, mostly in cases where the jaw is found to be too small to accommodate the extra molars; this is not a situation that is universally true in all cases.
In fact, a whole lot of people keep their wisdom teeth intact without the experience of positioning changes in their dental alignment. Another good thing is that modern orthodontic practices and consistent check-ups at the dentist’s office can aid in the monitoring of the position of wisdom teeth, ensuring they do not negatively impact the alignment of other teeth.
Financial Considerations
If we think of the benefits of keeping wisdom teeth from an affordability aspect, there’s no doubt that if you decide to retain your wisdom teeth, you can save some pretty significant money. For instance, in the case of extraction of wisdom teeth, it’s a procedure that can prove to be costly, especially if complications arise that require surgery.
Also, the recovery process may mean that you need to take time off work or school, increasing the cost even more. If you opt to keep your wisdom teeth in, you can avoid these expenses, of course, provided that your wisdom teeth are healthy and do not cause other dental issues.
Preservation of Natural Teeth
Another cool benefit of keeping your wisdom teeth in is that it aligns with the broader principle of preserving natural teeth whenever it’s possible. It goes without saying that natural teeth will have advantages over artificial replacements in terms of factors like how they look, how they function, and especially how they feel day-to-day.
Natural teeth are just better suited to withstand the forces of chewing, and that’s why they also provide better tactile feedback. That way, you can easily detect food textures and avoid biting on hard objects that could cause damage.
Psychological Benefits
We have talked about many of the tactile, physical and aesthetic benefits that you can reap if you decide to keep your wisdom teeth in, but let’s now shift our focus to the very tangible psychological benefits that are offered. For some individuals, the thought of surgery and the associated discomfort can understandably cause some level of anxiety and stress.
If they decide to keep wisdom teeth, particularly when they are not causing problems, the decision can alleviate their concerns and make their experience a much more comfortable one. Also, avoiding any extractions that are not really necessary can engender a healthier, more positive relationship with dental care, translating into more regular check-ups and visits to the dentist’s office.
Conclusion
In this blog we laid out the myriad benefits of keeping wisdom teeth, there seems to be a prevailing narrative in culture that assumes that wisdom teeth are problematic and must always be removed in all cases; we challenged this narrative and provided some tangible benefits.
If you are seeking a more personalized dental assessment performed by experienced dental professionals who can sensitively take into account the particulars of your oral environment and offer you the best dental solutions, then feel free to contact us or visit Bay Area Implant Dentistry, a premier clinic located in Fremont, California.