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While there is no way to verify this theory, some dentists speculate that wisdom teeth are a vestige from the days when our ancestors literally bit off more than they could chew on a daily basis. It's thought that the Stone Age diet often consisted of coarse, rough foods that required more chewing power. As a result, the jawbones of our ancestors were larger and accommodated 32 teeth with ease. In addition, in the wild, teeth had a tendency to fall prey to decay or get knocked out. If someone lost a tooth, the wisdom teeth would usually push the rest forward to fill in the gap. However, evolution
continued and the human diet changed to include softer, more processed foods that were less challenging to our pearly whites and jaws. Losing teeth became less of an issue, and wisdom teeth served less and less of a purpose. Today, most of us don't have the need or room for these extra molars. Wisdom tooth extraction is a common procedure, and usually requires just a few hours in the oral surgeon's office, followed by a few days of chipmunk-cheeked discomfort.
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