Most people have wisdom teeth, but some never erupt or cause problems and others can wreak havoc in your mouth. These teeth, which are the last to develop and usually erupt in the late teen years or early twenties, can cause pain and negatively affect your smile. Not everyone needs to have them removed, but there’s no reason to be afraid if your dentist recommends extraction. This type of oral surgery provides a better experience and outcome than keeping the teeth and enduring problems with them for many years. Most dentists advise wisdom teeth removal for the following reasons.

Overcrowding
Most people’s mouths have enough room for 28 teeth, which is the number of teeth before the eruption of wisdom teeth. That means when wisdom teeth come in, you have 32 teeth trying to fit into your jaw. If your jaw isn’t large enough, the wisdom teeth may not be able to come in properly. This often requires the removal of wisdom teeth so that your mouth fits the rest of your teeth correctly and comfortably.

Pain
Chronic pain near the wisdom tooth may indicate that infection is present. This can occur when food and bacteria become trapped, especially around wisdom teeth that have partially erupted. Tooth extraction will avoid continued infection and pain.

Misalignment
Some wisdom teeth do manage to fully erupt, but they are sideways and negatively affect neighboring teeth. Not only can this result in an unappealing smile, nearby teeth can be damaged by errant wisdom teeth.

Cyst
A cyst may develop in the area around a wisdom tooth if it fills with fluid. This can damage surrounding bone or tooth roots, or even worsen into a tumor that requires more serious surgery for removal.