Original version

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

CrowdScience

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Answering your questions about life, Earth and the universe

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

No Master Brand

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC Afghan Radio

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service East Asia

CrowdScience: Why do we have wisdom teeth?

Discussion & Talk

Why do we have wisdom teeth?

23/02/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, Why do we have wisdom teeth?

Why do humans have wisdom teeth if so many of them get removed soon after they appear?

Wisdom teeth, the third molars in the back of our mouths, are so called because they normally appear in late teenage, early adulthood – the time in life we supposedly have learned some wisdom. But around 25% of people don’t develop all four. Of those that do emerge, it is not uncommon for them to appear at nasty angles, jutting into the tooth next door causing potentially dangerous infections and pain. Because of this, for decades many people have them surgically removed. 

Listener Khaleel was preparing to have his remaining wisdom teeth removed when he wrote to CrowdScience to ask about them. Given that they can seem to cause more harm than good, why has evolution resulted in these troublesome teeth? But many people have perfectly uneventful relationships with their wisdom teeth, so have we perhaps removed more than we needed to over the years?

Anand Jagatia chews it over with the help of surgeons and dentists to try to extract the truth – why DO we have wisdom teeth?

Featuring: 
Tanya M Smith, Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution at Griffith University, Australia
Patrick Magennis, Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon at University Hospitals Aintree, Liverpool UK
Verena Toedtling, Dentist and Specialist Oral Surgeon, UK

Presented by Anand Jagatia
Produced by Alex Mansfield

Accessibility links

Programme Index

CrowdScience

Why do we have wisdom teeth?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

About BBC World Service