Our bodies are a work in progress. For instance, many people could safely remove their little toe without having any effect on walking or balance. The appendix plays a role in keeping gut bacteria safe when you’re sick with food poisoning, but it probably had a more active role in our bodies long ago. Gallbladders store bile for breaking down fat, but plenty of people can get by without one. And while our wisdom teeth are just as useful as the rest of our molars, a lot of people need them to come out before they completely emerge.
The biggest issue has to do with the size of the human jaw. When you have more teeth than you have room to spare in your mouth, the emerging teeth push against the ones already out and move them out of alignment. This can cause all sorts of problems like uneven wearing and a crossbite, it can make it hard to chew, and it does no favors for your smile.
Wisdom teeth aren’t much of a threat to your smile, but they can be a real danger to your back molars and can undo years of orthodontic work. This is because many people don’t have jaws big enough to support 32 teeth and so they come in sideways or damage the gums on their way up. To avoid this, a general dentist on Long Island will usually recommend removing the wisdom teeth as soon as possible.
That’s not the only reason wisdom teeth come out, either. In many cases the wisdom teeth will fit in just fine but a general dentist on Long Island will still say they should come out. Wisdom teeth can be more likely to get infections and cavities and then spread these cavities to healthy teeth. The issues with wisdom teeth coming in can also lead to cysts, and cysts cause their own kind of damage.
And there’s another reason why a general dentist of Long Island will usually recommend removal: the earlier the extraction happens, the easier it is and the faster the patient recovers. New teeth haven’t finished developing their roots and the bone surrounding them hasn’t finished solidifying around them, plus young patients in general heal better than older patients.
Painful, impacted teeth are the worst-case scenario for when your wisdom teeth come in, but even if they erupt from your gums fine they can still cause a lot of trouble. Make sure you visit a general dentist on Long Island or wherever you live regularly during your late teens and early 20s to make sure either the teeth come in fine or don’t do too much harm before you can remove them.
