What causes wisdom teeth to grow?

The growth of wisdom teeth is a normal phenomenon. People usually grow wisdom teeth between the ages of 16 and 25. However, if wisdom teeth fail to grow out and are not handled properly, it will cause great pain. Therefore, you must pay attention to scientific treatment and remove the wisdom teeth if necessary.

1. Reasons

Wisdom tooth refers to the third molar on the innermost alveolar bone in the human mouth, which is exactly the eighth tooth counting from the central incisor. Because it erupts very late, generally between the ages of 16 and 25, when a person's physical and psychological development are close to maturity, it symbolizes the "arrival of wisdom" and is therefore commonly called "wisdom tooth." There are great differences between individuals in the growth of wisdom teeth. Normally, there should be four teeth that are symmetrical in the upper and lower left and right directions. Some people have less than four or even none, and very few people have more than four. The age difference of eruption is also very large. For some people, it erupts before the age of 20, some people erupt at the age of 40 or 50, or never erupt in their lifetime. This is all normal.

2. Physiological characteristics

There are great individual differences in the growth of wisdom teeth. Some people have wisdom teeth before the age of 20, some grow them at the age of 40 or 50, and some never grow them in their entire lives. This is all normal. Not all four wisdom teeth will erupt. Some people are born with missing wisdom tooth germs, which may result in only 1 to 2 wisdom teeth growing. The location of wisdom teeth starts from the gap between the front teeth. Count the number of teeth from the front teeth on one side. If there is an eighth tooth, it is the wisdom tooth. During late adolescence, the jaw develops to near adult size. But for some people, the jawbone is not big enough and there is not enough space for wisdom teeth to erupt, so the wisdom teeth may not grow completely. This is called impacted wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth are impacted in the jawbone and grow in the other direction. The crown of the tooth may be only partially exposed above the gums, or it may be completely buried in the jawbone. The tooth root may become deformed or grow toward the maxillary sinus or mandibular nerve, which is dangerous.

3. Pathological symptoms

The symptoms of wisdom teeth are often due to incomplete eruption of wisdom teeth, part of the crown is surrounded by the gums, forming a blind pocket, which makes it easy for food debris to enter but difficult to exit, leading to redness and swelling of the pericoronal soft tissue and pus accumulation in the blind pocket. Patients will have symptoms such as pain, difficulty opening their mouths, fever, headache, and swollen tonsils.

When wisdom teeth grow, they often have insufficient space for eruption, which may lead to incomplete eruption, ectopic growth or impaction. Part of the crown is exposed outside the gums, while part is covered by the gums. A narrow and deep blind pocket is formed between the gums and the tooth, which easily accumulates food debris and bacteria, and is difficult to clean with normal brushing and rinsing. In addition, the crown gums are easily damaged by chewing food, forming ulcers and other symptoms. At the same time, due to the hot weather in summer, it is easy to get angry, which further induces the growth of pericoronitis of wisdom teeth.