Why are Wisdom Teeth/3rd Molars most often Extracted by Dentists

Wisdom Tooth or the 3rd Molar is the most commonly Extracted tooth due to pathological reasons by Dentists. Wisdom Teeth or 3rd molar teeth are being considered as vestigial parts of the human body as with evolution over decades it is seen that in some people 3rd molars are completely absent not even tooth buds are seen, and in others the jaw size decreasing constantly is the main reason for the lack of space for the 3rd molars to erupt into Occlusion and leading to Impaction.

There are various Steps in Local Examination to diagnose Impaction and the type of Surgery required to remove it. For example Wharf’s Assessment of Impacted 3rd molar. After Reading this post you will understand Why a dentist prefers removal of 3rd molar and asks you to get it extracted.

Reasons for 3rd Molar Extraction:

Here are some reasons why 3rd Molar is the most commonly impacted tooth in the Oral cavity and also why Dentists persist of getting it removed every time you visit a dentist.

Most commonly impacted tooth:

We all know that 3rd molars are the most commonly impacted teeth in the oral cavity after them come the Canines, but because of Impaction the Other teeth in the oral cavity are affected mostly 2nd Molar which is adjacent and due to the position of the 3rd molar it is most commonly affected. If there is Mesial Impaction of 3rd molar there is a trench formed between the crowns of 3rd and 3nd molar which will lead to food accumulation and if there is horizontal impaction the crown of 3rd molar will impinge on the root of 2nd molar leading to resorption of the Root. Hence for this main reason 3rd molar is the most extracted tooth in Oral Cavity.

Lack of Space in the dental arch:

Due to constant evolutionary changes to living beings the change in living conditions and the lack of requirement of that extra tooth to chew and to get good appearance the Jaw Size of Humans is decreasing and this is leading to loss of Space in Jaw for the 3rd molar to erupt which takes place after the growth stage is finished in Boys/Girls.

Lack of Space preventing eruption of 3rd molar

Lack of Space due to decrease in Jaw size is the Major reason for Impaction of 3rd molar which in turn leads to Extraction of the impacted 3rd molar.

Unwanted Location of the tooth:

Due to lack of Space and the tooth having no place to go the tooth is seen to get stuck in various unwanted locations which are classified as Mesial, Distal, Horizontal, Vertical Impaction and this is the cause of various conditions like, Caries, Cysts, Pericoronitis etc and the only solution is removal of this harmful tooth. Sometimes the Root of Impacted 3rd molar most commonly impinges on the Inferior or Dental Alveolar Nerve canal, so Relation of 3rd molar to Dental/Inf alveolar nerve canal is important in diagnosing and deciding the treatment plan.

Difficult to clean and prevent caries:

Due to the location of 3rd molar in the far end of the Oral cavity and at many times because of its odd locations makes it very difficult to clean and remove Food and Debris from accumulating which will lead to Caries to the Impacted tooth and along with it the adjacent 2nd Molar as well. In Mesial impaction because of the trench formation between 3rd and 2nd molar Caries is seen in both 3rd molar and the distal aspect of 2nd molar, so to protect the 2nd Molar removal of 3rd molar is compulsory.

Common reason for Pericoronitis:

Pericoronitis is the most common complain in 3rd molar impactions and the most common reason why people come to know that they have impacted tooth and visit the Dentist. Pericoronitis is nothing but imflammation of the Soft tissue covering the crown of the Impacted 3rd molar because it constantly gets impinged between the 3rd and 2nd molar corwns. For more details on c/f and Tretment of Pericoronitis see: C/F and treatment of Pericoronitis