Origins of Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth are your third set of molars, and anthropologists believe that they were useful back when a diet of rough food like leaves, roots, nuts, and meats resulted in premature wear on the teeth. Wisdom teeth would grow in later in life, when the other teeth were needing replacement. Our modern diets are much more gentle to the teeth, and we no longer need these replacements, which is why wisdom teeth are classified as vestigial organs. Wisdom teeth start forming around the age of 10 and don’t usually erupt until around 17-25. This is an age where people are said to become wiser, so they were nicknamed “wisdom teeth”. Some people don’t ever form wisdom teeth, but for those who do they usually have between one and four. The human jaw has become smaller over time, and these extra teeth usually have a hard time coming in.
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