Wisdom teeth are the third molars that appear as the back of a person’s mouth between the ages of 17 and 25. Their name shows they are in a separate category to baby teeth which appear at a young age and the adult teeth that replace them. Except in a few rare cases they are the last teeth to develop.
Problems with wisdom teeth are not uncommon. Wisdom teeth may be removed because the present teeth in the mouth take up all the available space. With insufficient space the wisdom teeth can be fully or partially overgrown by the back gums, or emerge sideways into the mouth. These teeth that are overgrown by the gums are very prone to infections due to the difficulty in removing food from the space between the tooth and overgrown gum. Teeth protruding into the side of the mouth or not protruding at all can cause severe pain and more serious problems later on. In these cases the wisdom tooth is removed entirely.
