Does the wisdom tooth perform a chewing function? What is a wisdom tooth? Why do we need wisdom teeth at all, and when can they come in handy?

A beautiful, undamaged dentition is an indicator of the health of the body and has a positive effect on its appearance.

Unlike other bones, they are formed throughout life, which gives a person a lot of trouble.

The so-called “eights” are especially successful in this.

About why wisdom teeth should be removed and what will happen if this is not done, and we'll talk in the material.

What is the problem with the “eights”?

For our ancestors, third molars had great importance, because they added capabilities and strengthened the structure of the masticatory apparatus.

Modern people no longer need this and, due to extra wisdom teeth, face a number of problems:

• remote location makes preventive cleaning, including with a toothbrush, difficult;
• often appear when cutting painful sensations and inflammatory processes, headache or Ear ache, general weakness body;
• “eights” can provoke displacement of other teeth;
• neighboring “sevens” can become infected with caries;
• During examination, dentists may find it difficult to identify problem areas and, accordingly, provide the necessary treatment in a timely manner.

Indications for preservation

Modern man has no functional need for third molars, but given the difficulties and troubles that they can cause, a logical question arises: “Why not get rid of the unnecessary “eight”?”

Unfortunately, not everything is as simple and harmless as it seems. Don't waste nature's gifts.

Reasons why wisdom teeth should not be removed may be as follows:

• they can serve as an excellent support if suddenly the need arises to install a bridge;
• in the absence of units that perform chewing functions, the “eight” can become the basis for a splint and partially take over this role;
• molars serve as a kind of barrier and prevent the loosening of the dentition.

Third molars can be considered as a kind of spare wheel. If they do not cause any inconvenience when cutting through, then there is no indication for their removal.

Need for removal

Why pull out wisdom teeth? You should get rid of it if the harm outweighs the benefit. For example, pain, numbness, inflammation, itching indicate problems in the masticatory apparatus, so it is better to consult a doctor immediately.

Only a specialist can correctly determine how much the root of a tooth is curved, how much its position deviates from the norm, and what the threat is to neighboring teeth and the entire body. As a rule, for such a diagnosis a referral is made for an x-ray ().

It is the “eights” that, due to their inconvenient location, are more susceptible to caries and cyst formation. To prevent adjacent teeth from becoming infected, it is important to carry out regular and thorough cleaning of the oral cavity. However, brushing your teeth 10 times a day is not possible due to a busy person, and the enamel can also suffer from excessive friction.

• the tooth has an incorrectly inclined position;
• or ;
• purulent ones are observed;
• the tooth injures the tongue or cheek.

If the situation is advanced and the incisors and canines have already shifted, then removal alone is no longer enough; in addition, you will have to resort to the help of an orthodontist and. In this case, difficulties may arise with therapeutic treatment. All specialists must coordinate their actions with each other.

The only thing worth considering is that it is better to remove the “eight” before the age of 20, when the bone is not yet hard enough. Then healing will proceed without serious problems, and recovery will take place faster.

Dentist intervention will be pointless if the wisdom tooth does not bother you and does not fulfill its chewing function.

Incorrect position

Typically, all of a person’s teeth, except the “wise” ones, are cut in a vertical position.

That is why, in most cases, they begin to form incorrectly even in the gums in such a way that during germination they deviate from the given vertical.

Usually there are three positions: buccal-angular, horizontal and lingual-angular.

With proper vertical growth, the tooth does not cause any inconvenience, since it does not affect either the gums or the tongue.

If done incorrectly, a number of problems arise. The most unpleasant thing is horizontal cutting: the tooth cannot germinate, but increases in size, grows into the roots of its “neighbor”, causing not only pain, but also destroying the healthy neighboring tooth.

In the buccal-angular position, deformation of the cheek occurs, and in the lingual-angular position, the tongue is injured. Wounds appear that do not have time to heal. For all germination options, except vertical, removal would be correct.

Dental displacement

Everybody wants to have beautiful smile, however, if you do not notice in time improper eruption third molar, then the formed main row is simply deformed.

The teeth will press against each other, this is especially dangerous if you have a narrow jaw.

Due to cramped conditions and lack of space, the "eight" will look for free space for germination. The consequences are pain, wrong process height and a ruined smile.

Decay of an adjacent tooth

Third molars are dangerous neighbors. Quite often it is because of them that the patient has to say goodbye to the healthy person.

As already mentioned, there are two main reasons: incorrect position and caries.

At horizontal deviation The “eight” simply changes the trajectory of its growth and injures the root of its neighbor, completely destroying it.

With caries, the “seven” is also at risk, since due to the close proximity it involuntarily becomes infected, and in advanced cases is destroyed.

So as not to lose healthy teeth It is important to regularly consult with a specialist. This will help you notice the problem in time and eliminate it without serious complications.

Pericoronitis

Another trouble is pericoronitis - when the third molar has not erupted or has not grown in completely. This happens due to the fact that food debris gets into a kind of “hood” on the gum.

It is difficult to clean them out, so the food begins to rot, causing swelling, pain, bad breath, discomfort while eating. Sometimes the patient experiences an increase in temperature.

Pericoronitis

In advanced cases, the jaw bone is injured and the periosteum becomes inflamed. Pericoronitis damages not only the molars, but also the gums, where pus begins to accumulate. If upon examination a similar purulent capsule is found, then it is recommended to remove the “eight”.

When the third molar has not fully erupted, a void is formed between the crown and the gum, and this is where bacterial plaque accumulates. The consequences are the same: unpleasant odor, pain and swelling of the gums.

Antibiotics must be added to the treatment, but at the extreme stage of pericoronitis it will not be possible to avoid the removal procedure. Antibiotics will only reduce the inflammation process, and recovery will be more successful.

Carious process

Those who abuse simple carbohydrates quickly become familiar with caries.

The causes of the disease of “eights” are exactly the same as for everyone else – insufficient oral hygiene and accumulation of plaque.

Sometimes bad heredity also affects it, and if in the first case everything depends on the patient himself, then it is already difficult to prevent anything, you will only have to correct it. Fortunately, medicine, including dentistry, has made great strides forward.

So, when the “eight” is not completely cut, a “hood” is formed.

The caries process itself can occur without special symptoms, especially on early stages.

It can only be noticed by an unexpected reaction to cold, hot, or sweet food.

However discomfort pass as quickly as they arise.

There is a violation of the integrity of dentin ( hard fabric) becomes light brown. The reaction to the stimulus will be felt precisely at the boundaries of destruction.

If you don’t know what to do with such a gift of nature as “eights,” then consult a dentist. Only a specialist will help you accept correct solution. Self-diagnosis will not lead to anything good.

Video on the topic

And finally, a wonderful video about why it is necessary to remove a wisdom tooth:

A wisdom tooth is the third molar, the eighth in the dentition, which erupts later than all the others. Precisely because of his late eruption it got its name because it is believed that by the age of 16-17 (and this is when they begin to erupt) a person is already quite smart and wise.

A person can have four wisdom teeth in total, one in each row of teeth on the right and left, on the upper and lower jaw.

However, the “eights” do not erupt in everyone; in approximately 8% of patients they do not erupt at all. This is not considered a pathology, since these teeth have long lost their main purpose - to chew pieces of solid food.

Structural features

The structure of a wisdom tooth is no different from the structure of other teeth permanent teeth. Its specificity lies in something else:

• erupts much later than others, around the age of 16-25 years;
• problems begin already at the eruption stage, since it begins to erupt when all the other teeth have already erupted and taken up free space in the jaw, therefore, the wisdom tooth needs not only to erupt through the gums, but also to “make” a place for itself in the jaw, literally pushing out the neighboring ones ;
• Eighth teeth are very difficult to treat because they are located in such a way that it is difficult to reach them with dental instruments, so most often they are not treated, but removed.

Life time

Despite the fact that wisdom teeth erupt later than all others, their service life is relatively short. This is explained by the fact that it is very difficult to clean them, since they grow in hard-to-reach places in the oral cavity. If, moreover, they are located with a deviation towards the cheek or towards the tongue, then its lateral surface cannot be completely cleaned of plaque or stone. This is why “eights” quickly deteriorate and begin to hurt.

It happens that a wisdom tooth is affected by caries at the eruption stage, especially if the eruption occurred with complications, for a long time and painfully.

Under a favorable combination of circumstances, “eights” can happen to a person throughout his life without causing concern. To do this, you need to adhere to oral hygiene and thoroughly clean your teeth from plaque, as well as systematically visit the dentist for preventive examination And professional cleaning and gums.

Why are they needed?

Many people wonder: why is a wisdom tooth needed? If it erupts with such difficulty and quickly deteriorates, then isn’t it easier to remove it at the eruption stage and not remember about it anymore?

Dentists have not come to a consensus about the role of the “eight”. On the one hand, there is nothing superfluous in human body, and if these problematic “eights” are intended by nature, then there is no need to rush to remove them unnecessarily. In the end, sometimes it happens that a bridge or prosthesis is attached to a wisdom tooth, since the patient has lost all others due to various circumstances.

On the other hand, wisdom teeth are vestigial organs, that is, they have lost their main functional purpose. A person consumes softer, thermally processed food, so there is no need to chew hard pieces of food. Cases are becoming increasingly common among patients complete absence rudiments of the eighth teeth or their incorrect eruption or retention. If complications of “eights” occur, then in this case, removing the problematic tooth is the best option.

Hood

When a wisdom tooth erupts, the hood causes a lot of trouble for both the patient and the dentist. By hood we mean the gum that hangs over the tooth and partially covers it, forming a kind of gum pocket above the “figure eight”. Residues of food may accumulate under it, which are food for pathogenic bacteria. In advanced cases, pus may even come out from under the hood when pressing on the gums.

In dentistry, a wisdom tooth hood is the cavity that forms between the gum and tooth. Its danger is that it is an excellent incubator for pathogenic bacteria that cause inflammation. If the hood becomes filled with food and an inflammatory process begins in it, the gums and cheek may become swollen, and the tooth may become painful. Sometimes the pain even radiates to the ear and maxillary sinuses. Therefore, if you have a hood, contact your dentist for help.

Excision of wisdom tooth hood

The most effective method The treatment is to remove the hood. It's pretty simple surgery, which is carried out under local anesthesia. After anesthesia, the doctor removes the gum hanging over the tooth, cleans the cavity of pus, and rinses the wound with an antiseptic solution. IN further doctor may decide to prescribe antibacterial drugs if the inflammatory process is too intense. It is also recommended to rinse your mouth antiseptic solutions- furatsilin or potassium permanganate.

Treatment or removal: what to choose?

Patients often ask whether wisdom teeth can be treated at all, or whether removal is the only option. In fact, only a doctor can decide how to treat - therapeutically or surgically, it all depends on the accessibility of the tooth and the severity of the disease. Since it is practically no different from other teeth, except for its location, it is susceptible to the same diseases as others. Let's analyze possible diseases"eights" and methods of their treatment.

Diseases

Caries most often affects wisdom teeth, since it is caused by insufficient hygiene and the presence of plaque, and they are located in the mouth in such a way that it is almost impossible to completely clean them of plaque. More often carious cavity It forms in a hard-to-reach place, so it is very difficult to fill a tooth well. Sometimes the dentist immediately recommends removing the tooth if it is not possible to quality treatment and filling.

If you do not promptly consult a dentist about wisdom tooth caries, complications such as pulpitis or periodontitis may occur. Since the root system of 8 teeth is very complex, sometimes removing the nerve and canal filling is impossible. In this case, you will definitely have to delete it. Therefore, you should not take caries lightly and contact your dentist at the first signs of the disease.

Features of treatment

If the wisdom tooth is positioned incorrectly, then it is very difficult to get to it, and it is even more impossible to carry out full treatment. That's why sometimes you have to remove "eights" even with mild or average degree caries - that is, in cases where any other tooth could be treated and filled without problems.

Dentists warn: the sooner you see a doctor, the greater the chance of saving the tooth. Therefore, at the first signs of caries, you should immediately contact your dentist.

Therapeutic and drug treatment

If the “eights” are located correctly, you can get close to them, and the patient promptly consults a doctor for help, you can carry out therapeutic and drug treatment. An antibiotic by itself will not help, it is supportive therapy and is prescribed in case of depulpation. If the doctor has decided to remove the nerve, treatment may be needed in the future antibacterial drugs to prevent the spread inflammatory process.

If your wisdom tooth hurts and aches, pills will also do little to help. Unless the doctor can recommend painkillers to relieve pain after root canal filling. You can also take painkillers before visiting the doctor, but in any case, a visit to the dentist should not be postponed for long. After all, if it becomes inflamed, the consequences can be very serious, including the development of an abscess and blood poisoning.

Consequences of removing "eights"

Since wisdom teeth are located in the most difficult to reach area of ​​the jaw, often the only treatment option is to remove them.

Indications for removal

• the tooth is positioned incorrectly and erupts horizontally or at an angle, touching the roots of neighboring ones;
• facial neuralgia;
• a cyst in the gum near this place;
• partial eruption, in which the gums are constantly injured;
• caries damage ( common complication- perforation of the canal, root or bottom of the tooth cavity) in the event that all the doctor’s manipulations are impossible due to inaccessibility or incorrect position in the patient's mouth;
• the occurrence of pulpitis or periodontitis;
• if the tooth is in maxillary sinus rooted.

In these cases, deletion is the only option possible option treatment.

How does deletion work?

Wisdom teeth are removed under local anesthesia. With an impacted tooth, the doctor first removes the mucous membrane and periosteum, then the part of the bone that is located above it. And only after this the tooth itself is removed.

In particular difficult cases the doctor can decide remove in parts.

After removal, the periosteum and mucous membrane are restored using sutures. The site of tooth extraction (socket) is treated with an antiseptic solution and tamponed. If the removal was carried out correctly, a blood clot, which does not allow infection to penetrate into the wound.

Possible complications

• dry socket, that is, a blood clot has not formed at the site of tooth extraction, preventing the penetration of pathogenic bacteria and infection into the wound;
• tumor, that is, after traumatic removal of the gum, the gum swells; after a few days, with proper care, the swelling goes away;
• perforation of the bottom of the maxillary or maxillary sinus;
• numbness of the lip, tongue, chin, which occurs due to the fact that the nerve endings were injured during removal.

In all of the above cases, you should immediately seek help from a dentist without self-medicating.

Healing after surgery

Usually, if there were no complications during the operation, healing after wisdom tooth removal is easy and quick. The oral cavity must be rinsed with antiseptic solutions, but without fanaticism, so as not to remove the blood clot from the hole. For severe pain, you can take painkillers; usually the doctor recommends the most suitable drug.

On the first day after tooth extraction, you should not drink alcohol, smoke, drink hot, cold or too much food. spicy food. It is advisable to eat liquid and soft foods. You can't play sports either. By following all the recommendations, you will facilitate the healing process.

Third molars, “eights” or, as they are most often called, wisdom teeth - in most people they erupt after reaching adulthood and often become the cause various problems, starting from slight pain and inflammation ending with malocclusion. At the same time, dentists still cannot come to a consensus as to how much we need another pair of chewing teeth. So why does a person need wisdom teeth and does he need them? You will learn the answers to these and other questions from our material.

Why are wisdom teeth called that?

The growth of third molars usually occurs in the period from 16-17 to 25-30 years, although there are cases where wisdom teeth grew in 40-year-olds. Be that as it may, the appearance of a wisdom tooth is associated with a person reaching a certain threshold of maturity, coming of age, when a person becomes more reasonable. Obviously, it was this fact that gave the name “eights”.

Functions of third molars: the opinion of scientists

Today we can only guess what functions nature has invested in wisdom teeth, but researchers have fairly stable and widely accepted hypotheses on this matter. Firstly, an extra pair of chewing teeth was very useful to ancient people and our primate ancestors - they helped chew solid food, such as roots and fruits of plants. With the advent heat treatment and change daily diet In humans, the need for additional chewing teeth has become less acute. However, evolutionary processes proceed much more slowly than civilizational ones, so today we, like our distant ancestors, have the opportunity to chew food with 32 teeth, and not 28.

This theory is quite trustworthy, but does not explain why wisdom teeth grow so late and, unlike other molars, do not have milk predecessors. Pointing out this difficulty gave rise to another hypothesis, also, however, related to diet ancient man. According to this theory, wisdom teeth are a safety mechanism created by nature; they are intended to replace chewing teeth worn out from eating solid food. This is why they grow later than other teeth.

Why remove wisdom teeth?

Although wisdom teeth are a vestigial organ, they may well be useful to modern people. They reduce the load on the remaining chewing teeth, and can also serve as an excellent support for “bridges” during prosthetics. However, their growth often becomes real problem, calling severe pain and inflammation, destruction of adjacent teeth, deformation of the dentition, as well as others serious complications and pathology. In this case, based on x-rays, examination and medical history, the dentist can decide on the need to remove teeth that promise to pose a threat to oral health. Usually the need for extraction arises due to the incorrect position of the tooth, as a result of which it injures soft fabrics oral cavity and interferes normal growth neighboring teeth.

When wisdom teeth are cutting in, we recommend drinking the Asepta vitamin and mineral complex. IN otherwise molars may grow with weak enamel, which will later lead to carious processes. The complex provides the body with calcium and other minerals, is well absorbed by the body.

A person usually has between 28 and 32 teeth. By the age of 30, some additional wisdom teeth grow. If you find yourself among them and doubt whether you need to remove the “eight”, do not rush to make a decision. The fact is that it can play both a negative and a positive role. We will present all the pros and cons for saying goodbye to the “witness of wisdom.” You will learn how it can be useful and when you can safely get rid of it.

What is the significance of wisdom teeth?

The extra molar practically does not perform any functions - it is little involved in the chewing process, despite the fact that it very often causes severe pain. Its uselessness is due to the fact that it is located at the very edge of the gum. Food does not fall on it during meals and therefore it is never used. At the same time, between him and adjacent tooth food remains accumulate, which, if removed untimely, begin to rot and spoil the structure of the molars.

The main teeth successfully cope with the chewing function.

It is also interesting that among the indigenous people North America And of Eastern Europe There is a belief that with the appearance of an extra molar, a person becomes wise and reaches his maturity. It is believed that after this, deceased ancestors begin to patronize him. After its removal, the person supposedly becomes weak and runs the risk of encountering trouble, since he has a weakened aura.

Is it worth removing wisdom teeth?

Here are the main reasons why it is not advisable to do this. Since the “eight” can:

• serve as a support for bridge prosthetics;
• prevent loosening of other teeth in the row;
• with age, after the loss of the main molars, partially participate in the chewing process.

We can talk about the advantages of the G8 only if it does not cause significant discomfort and does not lead to complications (formation malocclusion).

Most often, an extra molar causes a lot of problems for its owner and requires removal.

Dentists advise getting rid of the “eight” when it is problematic (carious, pulpitis or other diseases occur). In most cases, her condition is worse than satisfactory. In this case, the “neighbors” may also deteriorate because of it. Filling canals is difficult because they are very curved and access to the desired location is limited by the gum. Also, the eighth molar is quite complex in structure.

Treatment of caries makes sense only in the early stages, and the most common methods are used for it. If the process is advanced, it is recommended to remove the wisdom tooth. If the doctor starts treatment and fails to seal the canals completely, the inflammation will spread to a wider space. This can create terrible pain, form a cyst and fistula.

It is also unpleasant that the treatment of figure eight takes a long time, sometimes it takes 2-3 months. This is also a rather expensive undertaking, which does not guarantee that it will not be necessary to resort to deletion in the future.

It is also advisable to get rid of a wisdom tooth in cases where it:

• causes severe pain, whether due to teething or due to deep caries;
• didn’t make it all the way out;
• led to malocclusion, which causes discomfort and does not look aesthetically pleasing;
• damaged the gums and caused them to bleed;
• has an unusual location in the oral cavity (rests against “neighbors”).

Obviously, the owners of the “eight” have a hard time. There are possibilities for its treatment, but it is much easier to remove the problematic molar and move on with your life in peace. Experts can help you do this painlessly dental clinic"Caries.net."

Wisdom teeth, also known in the dental field as “eights” or “third molars,” are one of the most common reasons visits to the dentist.

They do not take part in chewing food and bring a lot of problems to their owner. Why are wisdom teeth needed and what functions do they perform?

Today, wisdom teeth are considered a rudiment - that is, a “legacy” inherited from distant ancestors.

U modern man there is no urgent need for them, they do not fulfill vital important functions. That is why 13-16% of the entire population of the planet simply do not have “eights”; in many other cases, dentists persistently advise removing them.

Wisdom teeth: what age does it appear?

Many people are interested in why the wisdom tooth got its name and at what age it appears.

As you know, the first milk teeth erupt in a child under the age of 2 years.

After reaching 7-8 years of age, they begin to gradually fall out, and strong permanent ones grow in their place.

One of the most common complications associated with wisdom teeth is pericoronitis. This is an inflammatory process that affects the tissues located directly around the tooth. In the process of its eruption, the so-called “hood” is formed - small bump on the gum, covered with mucous tissue.

In the process of chewing food, it is often injured and penetrated pathogenic microorganisms, which leads to the emergence purulent inflammation- that is, pericoronitis. In this case, it is impossible to do without removing the “third molars”.

Pericoronitis

A frequent complication during the formation of wisdom teeth is considered to be an inflammatory process that affects healthy gum tissue. In the absence of timely dental care, gingivitis can develop into more serious illnesses – , .

Characteristic symptoms The inflammatory process is swelling and redness of the gum area around the wisdom tooth, the appearance unpleasant odor from the oral cavity. Inflammation can be accompanied by severe painful spasms that radiate to the temple, ear, neck, and throat. When you press on the gums, you may notice purulent discharge.

The main danger associated with wisdom teeth is that they grow last in the row. Accordingly, in his place there was no baby tooth, which makes cutting through “eights” significantly more difficult. They are supported by their “neighbors” only on one side.

Problems with wisdom teeth

This gives the third molars an excellent opportunity to move laterally and grow at an angle. In dentistry, there are cases where wisdom teeth erupted and grew across the jaw. This causes serious discomfort when chewing food or during a conversation, and can also significantly spoil the bite and overall appearance person.

Moreover, it is wrong anatomical location wisdom teeth leads to permanent injury to the oral mucosa. As a result, food residues or pathogens, which leads to the development of an inflammatory process or serious dental disease. That is why almost all dentists advise not to spend a lot of time treating “figure eights”, but to remove them.

How to avoid complications

In order to avoid any complications during the eruption of wisdom teeth, you should definitely seek dental help. If the tooth is difficult to treat, there is inflammation of the gums, suppuration, or the appearance of a cyst, it must be removed immediately.

To remove figure eights that have not yet erupted, the dentist makes a small incision in the hood. Through it the tooth is extracted. Further oral cavity the patient is treated with a special bactericidal solution, he is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs medications, and, if necessary, antibiotics.

After wisdom teeth removal

In most cases, it is also traumatic, which is associated with its location. Therefore, the dentist must use an anesthetic.

On the first day after surgery, pain, numbness of the gums or tongue may occur. Typically, such symptoms disappear on their own after a few days. If this does not happen, you need to contact your dentist again.

Third molars are very difficult to clean. For hygiene procedures You must use a separate toothbrush, the bristles of which have different lengths. This will help clean the tooth. In the event of the development of caries or other dental disease, the “eights” are best removed.