What is the point of wisdom teeth any way?

It is because we used to need them. When we were still in the primitive era, where we eat raw meat, we need all the molars we can have. Back then, our ancestors had large jaws to accomodate all these teeth. But as times change, as men discovered fire, and started cooking their food, we no longer need this last set of molars. But we still keep getting them. Unfortunately, our jaws have shrunk, so there's no longer enough space for all this teeth. That is why they get impacted. We have no choice but to live with it. My first wisdom tooth grew just last month. And it hurts like hell. But still, I haven't had it pulled out. It's not impacted, so I think it will be fine. ^_^

I have often wondered that same thing...I still have 3 of mine...One was pulled last year,but 3 are left....I just ask my husabnd what they were good for when i saw your discussion,he said they are there to get in your way haha... other than that i have no idea....

I totally agree with you; wisdom teeth are useless! Mine came out when i was 15 and up until i was 24, all was fine, then all of a sudden, it's like there wasn't enough room in my mouth for those extra 4 (useless) teeth!! I got tooth aches, that made me go up the walls, then, i had to have them all 4 pulled out!

We used to need them because we used to eat lots of fresh food, lots of meat, and things thousands of years ago. But now since our mouths are a little smaller they usually don't come in correctly so we just have to have them removed. If they come in correctly then we really don't need them removed.

Wisdom teeth are a lot like the appendix. They are basically evolutionary leftovers. Unfortunately, we have not evolved quite enough to have them not grow in anymore, although I have heard of the occasional person who has never gotten their wisdom teeth. Back in the "caveman days", people had larger jaws. The jaw was larger and was able to accomodate a third set of molars which we refer to as wisdom teeth. As man evolved, the jaw slowly became smaller in size as man learned to break up food with his hands rather than leaving the teeth to do all the work of breaking up food as they chewed. The jaw became smaller because there was no longer a need for such a strong, powerful, and prominent jaw. Nature tends to eliminate those things in our body that we do not need due to changes in living styles that might occur. This is an example of one of those things. Our jaws have changed, but we still have not gotten rid of the actual teeth that grow in. Eventually, in another few thousand years, we may not grow wisdom teeth at all if the human lifestyle is still similar to what it is today.

I was watching one of those medical shows on cable and they stated that the reason people have wisdom teeth goes back to the caveman era. When they use to eat meat and pretty much nothing else the teeth would break off and the others would shift forward allowing room for the wisdom teeth to come up and out hence giving them 4 more teeth.

good question, maybe they served a purpose in earlier days but they don't seem to serve any now. Mine never came through and they got carried and I had them removed.

I didn't know either til I read Swirlz answer. I have had to have all mine removed because they were impacted but I guess they served their purpose while they were there, lol.

Ouch. I hope you feel better soon. I took a lot of Vitamin C after mine were pulled and that really helped them heal fast. I hope somebody made you some nice soup to drink and chewing right now is probably not fun. Many people think that the wisdom teeth are like vestigial organs, but I am not sure. Some people don't believe in the theory of evolution and that would sort of knock out the vestigial organ theory, too. I haven't decided, what do you think?

I think we had wisdom teeth because we before had a much more vegetative diet, and therefore needed teeth that could crush instead of cut food. Majbe we had them for other purposes but cant think of any right now.

LOL. honestly, I hate my wisdom teeth too. I have three that had been taken out years ago and all of them were only problems for me, and I just don't understand their usage for me. especially when there was no room left for them, in my mouth. :P I still have one wisdom tooth remaining, but the dentist said that we mustn't remove this one when there was no problem with me, unless it started to make problem. because the position is danger to be removed (related to nose part, something like that). but maybe for those who have rooms for the teeth, there would be no problem. but I heard that some certain Asian countries require the foreign students to have their teeth scanned (to see whether they had these) and when the institution found any, the students would be required to have the teeth removed first before they started the new semester in the countries.

They have said that it is a sign of geting older, like having gray hair. I don't really know if it is true or not. Besides, some people never get a wisdom tooth.

The majority of people have this problem with wisdom teeth, and yes, they are absolutely useless in that case. If you have one removed on the bottom, it is also best to have the top one removed also, as the top one will start to grow downward, since it has no tooth below it to rest on when the jaw is shut. However, there are people who have had their wisdom teeth grow in properly, and can therefore occlude (chew) with them. How do I know all of this, you ask? I'm a dental assistant. :o)