The "Did You Ever Have Your Wisdom Teeth Extracted? Story

It was an ordinary day.  Watching America's Funniest Home Videos on TV and picking our favorites for the evening.  Not always the same videos that the show picks for viewers to choose from, but if they happen to have a youngster who has just had their wisdom teeth removed and are still under the influence of the anesthesia, those videos are always hilarious.  And, at times they win the weekly competition.  Do you remember when you had your wisdom teeth removed?  I don't, since I never had to have my wisdom teeth removed.  They are just like any other molar in your mouth which are necessary for crushing and grinding.  You usually get your first set of molars at the age of six and another set at the age of 12.  The final set, the wisdom teeth, usually appear between the ages of 18 and 21.  The more grinding teeth you have the easier it is to eat tough foods.  But, as humans evolved they began to cook their food making it softer and easier to chew, thus no need for crushing and grinding teeth.  So there was no need for three sets of molars.  In turn, human jaws became smaller, but they still had 3 sets of molars.  And...they all didn't fit in the space provided.  But, there was also another reason for humans to have wisdom teeth.  At one time people didn't have access to toothpaste and dentists to help keep the teeth healthy.  So, wisdom teeth grew in your mouth at the age when you may have needed teeth to replace those that became diseased and dropped out.  With modern diets and healthier dental hygiene, the wisdom teeth may no longer be needed in some mouths.  In that case they may become impacted and can cause medical problems such as tooth crowding, infections, jaw and ear pain, cysts and even cancer.  

So, in that case they need to be removed surgically.  Some dentists recommend removing wisdom teeth if they don't fully emerge just for the reasons I listed.  Some dentists believe it is better to remove wisdom teeth at a younger age, before the roots and bone are fully formed, and when recovery is generally faster after surgery.  That is why some young adults have them removed before the teeth can cause problems.  But, as I read more about wisdom teeth, I found that some people don't have wisdom teeth in the first place.  It may have to do with your heritage and ethnic groups.  Thousands of years ago, a random mutation arose which suppressed the formation of wisdom teeth, a trait that then spread and now accounts for the lack of wisdom teeth among some modern humans.  It is reported that 10 to 25 percent of Americans are missing the third set of molars.  Wow, all of a sudden I began to wonder if the gene mutation I have is the reason I never had my wisdom teeth removed.  Perhaps I didn't have them in the first place.  Marked that on my calendar to ask my dentist on my next visit.  But, the reason why those people who became stars on AFV is the anesthesia that "puts you to sleep" so you don't feel it when the dentist pulls those teeth from your mouth. Takes some time for it to flush out of your system and during that time you may make some very funny comments that you will not remember when you are finally free of the drugs that you were given to have your wisdom teeth removed.  And, those videos are usually my favorites.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.