September 12, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN RI
I certainly hope not! I never had any - well, just one but it never
"erupted" above the gum. And since it was pressing on its neighbor,
it had to be removed. Maybe that explains something... but I think
the name originated from the notion that people 18 to 20 years old
have attained some wisdom at the same time most wisdom teeth grow in.

Actually, not having wisdom teeth _could_ be the next stage in
evolution, as the human jaw got smaller than the ancestral ape's and
lacked room for as many teeth. But modern dentistry has removed
whatever selective pressure impacted wisdom teeth might have put on
the human race. One could imagine that without dentistry people with
impacted wisdom teeth might not have survived as well as others. My
father had all four wisdom teeth but all four had to be removed, and
removing the last one broke his jaw. That clearly would not have
helped him to survive in the wild.