Quiz: How Smart Are You About Your Wisdom Teeth?

Your wisdom teeth may be useless, but they can sure cause a lot of trouble. Test your wisdom-tooth knowledge.

Questions:

1. True or False: The average adult can have six wisdom teeth.

2. True or False: The worst thing that can happen if you don't remove wisdom teeth is that you can get crowding (malocclusion) of your teeth.

3. True or False: If you haven't had your wisdom teeth out by age 30, you might as well forget it.

4. True or False: If you're pregnant, you can still have your wisdom teeth out.

5. True or False: After having a lower wisdom tooth extracted, you can expect some numbness of your lower lip, jaw or side of the tongue.

Answers:

1. TRUE. While the average adult has four wisdom teeth, known as the third molars, some people do have two or three and others can have up to five or six. Occasionally, a lucky soul can reach adulthood with no wisdom teeth at all.

2. FALSE. There are a lot worse things that can happen besides crowding of your teeth. They include:

-Decay which can't be treated if the tooth is impacted (under the gum or deep within the jawbone);

-Severe infection called pericoronitis--an infection around the crown of the tooth that may spread to the cheek, throat or neck--with severe pain

-TMJ or TMD (temporomandibular joint dysfunction)--an imbalance of the jaw joint and the supporting muscles due to malocclusion-resulting in jaw pain, clicking and popping; severe headaches; neck and upper back pain; and ear blocking, pain and strange sensations.

-Cysts and tumors (some even malignant) that develop from the follicle--the sac that surrounds the wisdom tooth.

3. TRUE. But only if you're not having problems, such as pain or infection. Up to age 30, it's a good idea to remove wisdom teeth even if they're not bothering you because the roots are still immature. The procedure will be easier with less risk and faster healing. But after age 30, the risks of doing the surgery increase, along with longer healing time.

4. FALSE. Pregnancy is one condition where caution should be exercised because the surgery and anesthesia (especially general) could present more problems than the tooth would. Other such conditions include diabetes and hemophilia.

5. FALSE: Numbness, known as paresthesia, is an uncommon risk associated with wisdom tooth extraction. It can happen when there is bruising of the bottom jaw's main nerve. But what you should expect is some bleeding, soreness, swelling, and some difficulty in opening your mouth. This should all subside in two to three days. By seven days you should be totally recovered.

How did you do?

5 correct: You must be an oral surgeon.

3-4 correct: You're wiser than most dental consumers.

2-3 correct: You've smarter than the average patient.

1-2 correct: You need to brush up on your dental knowledge.

0 correct: Better make an appointment with your dentist real soon.

Sources:

Raymond Dionne, DDS, of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

Maria Papageorge, DDS, of the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine