“Eights” are those teeth which, on the one hand, we do not need, but on the other hand cause many problems. Many people, for health reasons (e.g. when they do not fit into the jaw and grow crookedly), decide to remove them. Scientists set out to find out why the “wisdom teeth” grow so late.
Wisdom Teeth – Do We Need Them?
“Eights”, often called “Teeth of wisdom”is one of those elements of the human body that man basically does not need. These are the remains of our ancestors that have regressed over time and as a result of human evolution. “Teeth of wisdom”, despite the name, do not give us reason. However, they can cause many problems.
“Wisdom teeth” belong to the molars. So they are used for grinding and chewing food. While our four-legged ancestors were very useful, they are losing their importance nowadays. Evolutionary changes in the structure of the human jaw caused that today the “eights” can hardly fit in it. And if there is not enough space for them in the dental arch, the eruption process is not going well.
“Eights” very often grow out crookedly or remain uneven. Only in some people the “wisdom teeth” fit in the jaw and thus grow completely and correctly – then they are properly placed in the arch and fulfill their function well.
- See also: Removing eights
Why do “eights” appear only when we are adults?
Scientists from the University of Arizona (United States) decided to check why “eights” appear only when a person is already an adult. The lead author of the study, an anthropologist Halszka Glowacka, together with Gary Schwartz, a paleoanthropologist from the Institute of Human Origin, collected examples of different skulls to compare their evolution. On the basis of observations and analyzes, scientists concluded that “wisdom teeth” appear so late because the human jaw grows very slowly and is too small earlier.
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– It turns out that our jaws grow very slowly. Only when there is more space in them, there is a chance that we will grow “eight” – explains Gary Schwartz.
It is worth knowing that in the case of species with longer jaws, the time needed for the skull to develop the appropriate structure of the rear teeth is relatively short.
It is different with people. Why? Primarily because humans have short and flat jaws that grow slowly.
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