Wisdom teeth are just teeth that erupt much later than others, and not at a child's age. Dentists call them third molars and eights. In fact, this is a rudiment, inherited from our ancestors, whose jaws were much wider. There are many misconceptions associated with these teeth.

Myth 1. Wisdom teeth appear in adolescence

As a rule, it is not. Why? The fact is that these teeth, unlike the rest, are formed not during intrauterine development, but between the ages of 3-5. If you take a child to a pediatric dentist during this period, he/she will even be able to determine how many wisdom teeth he will have in the future.

At the same time, the formation of the coronal part of wisdom teeth occurs when the majority of children already have a change in the milk teeth to permanent ones. However, the roots of wisdom teeth continue to form, and sometimes even after the eruption.

At the same time, 10–15% of people don’t have wisdom teeth. These lucky people never face unpleasant feelings during their eruption and spend their whole life with a set of 28 teeth. Moreover, different people may have a different number of wisdom teeth cutting through. That is why the presence of 28–32 teeth is considered the norm.

Myth 2. Any discomfort with the appearance of wisdom teeth must be tolerated

For almost all people, this process is accompanied by discomfort. This is due to the fact that eights don’t have dairy "predecessors".

Often there is difficulty in the eruption of the wisdom tooth due to various pathologies, and in this case, you need to consult a doctor. But how can an ordinary person distinguish normal teething from difficult ones? After all, most often any appearance of the eight is accompanied by an increase in temperature of 1-2 degrees, pain in the jaw, inflammation of the gums and even the submandibular lymph nodes.

If you have a very sharp pain in the gums and jaws, the discharge of blood and pus from the gums, swelling of the cheek, and the lips and tongue are injured, then you should immediately consult a doctor. Such symptoms indicate a pathological eruption of the eight.

Myth 3. Wisdom teeth should always be removed

Third molars or eights may be no different from other teeth, don’t interfere with chewing food and generally don’t show themselves. But alas, the pathologies of wisdom teeth are quite common, because of which you should take certain measures. If the tooth appeared normally, doesn’t press and doesn’t displace the other teeth, does not interfere with chewing food, then it can be used in the same way as all other teeth.

Myth 4. Removing wisdom teeth is always a long and painful procedure

The doctor chooses the method of tooth extraction, depending on what problem you have addressed to him. At the same time in modern dentistry will always provide pain relief and try to minimize the pain and your discomfort.

After removal, you should not eat for two hours, do not eat anything hot during the day and do not touch the hole with your tongue. Often, after wisdom teeth are removed, the temperature rises and edema occurs, and therefore the doctor prescribes medication therapy. Take the prescribed pills, follow the recommendations for care, and then the unpleasant symptoms will take 5-7 days to subside. The dentist prescribes vitamins, anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs to reduce swelling, temperature, and pain.

Myth 5. Wisdom teeth can’t be treated and should immediately be removed

It is not always necessary to immediately remove wisdom teeth. They are quite treatable. If the tooth is normally located and doesn’t harm the neighboring teeth, then it can be saved. Although it is important to understand: such teeth are more prone to tooth decay because they are located deep in the jaw and it is much more difficult to clean them qualitatively than other teeth. Sometimes the brush simply cannot squeeze into the narrow space. Also, if part of the tooth remains under the gum, then a gum pocket is formed, into which food particles can enter. This enhances tooth decay.