Extra Wisdom Teeth - My Brother's Surprise Dental X-Ray Findings

  • Thread starter Thread starter Math Is Hard
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Teeth
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the phenomenon of having extra wisdom teeth, with participants sharing personal experiences and anecdotes related to dental x-rays and wisdom teeth removal. The scope includes personal accounts, concerns about dental procedures, and speculative thoughts on evolutionary implications.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant reports their brother has 6 wisdom teeth, including an extra set on top, prompting curiosity about the rarity of such a condition.
  • Another participant mentions knowing someone with 8 wisdom teeth, indicating that multiple extra teeth are not unheard of.
  • Several participants share their own experiences with wisdom teeth, with some having had all four removed and others expressing relief at not needing extraction.
  • Concerns are raised about the pain associated with wisdom teeth removal, with varying accounts of recovery experiences.
  • There are discussions about the evolutionary implications of having more or fewer wisdom teeth, with some joking about "shark DNA" and the idea of being "farther along the evolutionary path" without wisdom teeth.
  • One participant shares a humorous anecdote about a holy man who believed teeth held worries and troubles, leading to his decision to remove all his teeth.
  • Another participant reflects on their own dental history, including issues with overcrowding and the impact of wisdom teeth on their dental alignment.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of experiences and opinions regarding wisdom teeth, with no clear consensus on the implications of having extra teeth or the necessity of their removal. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the evolutionary significance of wisdom teeth.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention varying dental conditions and experiences, highlighting the individual nature of wisdom teeth issues. There are references to personal pain levels and recovery times, which may depend on specific circumstances.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals curious about dental health, particularly those facing wisdom teeth removal or those with unusual dental conditions.

Math Is Hard
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
4,650
Reaction score
36
6 wisdom teeth!11

My brother got dental x-rays today and found out he has 6 wisdom teeth! :eek: He has an extra set on top. I have never heard of such a thing. Has anyone else here had extra wisdom teeth?
 
Biology news on Phys.org
I have known someone with 8 wisdom teeth! O_O
 
moose said:
I have known someone with 8 wisdom teeth! O_O
YIKES!
 
I have 4! Woohoo! I didn't have to get them taken out.

I wonder if the pain is relatively the same as taking out 4. I'm sure it can't be that much worse.
 
JasonRox said:
I have 4! Woohoo! I didn't have to get them taken out.

I wonder if the pain is relatively the same as taking out 4. I'm sure it can't be that much worse.
You are so lucky. I am getting mine taken out at Christmas. I supposedly only have the standard 4, but since my brother's news I am worried there might be more hiding! They thought I only had three at first, but sneaky #4 finally showed itself on an X-ray. My poor brother. I hope this won't be too rough on him. :frown:
 
Why do you have to get wisdom teeth taken out anyhow?
 
Pengwuino said:
Why do you have to get wisdom teeth taken out anyhow?
For me, it's because I have "size 10 teeth in a size 8 mouth". There's no room. They are just about coming out of my ears. Another one is impacted and it hurts me like hell sometimes.
 
I think that we don't chew as much as our ancestors and our jaws are getting smaller.

Double teeth are not uncommon. Must be hard to floss though.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/doubleteeth.html
 
Math Is Hard said:
My poor brother. I hope this won't be too rough on him. :frown:
:bugeye: Oh man that's going to hurt bad. My mom got one of her's takin out and she it hurt really bad. I feel bad for your brother.:frown:
 
  • #10
Math Is Hard said:
I am getting mine taken out at Christmas. I supposedly only have the standard 4, but since my brother's news I am worried there might be more hiding! They thought I only had three at first, but sneaky #4 finally showed itself on an X-ray.
A FOOL who still has all their wisdom teeth??! What were you thinking?? This explains all the inappropriate surges of good judgement that have been ruining your life and reputation lately.

You're on probation till Christmas, Missy.
 
  • #11
Big deal I've seen chickens with teeth, so your brothers a freak, my brothers a freak :biggrin:
 
  • #12
Must have shark DNA somewhere in the family
 
  • #13
Math Is Hard said:
My brother got dental x-rays today and found out he has 6 wisdom teeth! :eek: He has an extra set on top. I have never heard of such a thing. Has anyone else here had extra wisdom teeth?
I had the same condition here, an extra set above the regular wisdom teeth on top. Had them all removed as a child. Main concern during removal was the extra set was very close to bottom of sinus cavity.
 
  • #14
Dentists have said that having no wisdom teeth indicates being "farther along the evolutionary path."

So haveing more wisdom teeth means...
:not-really-serious smiley:
 
  • #15
I had all four out at once, MIH, and it really wasn't that bad. Everyone had me thinking it would be much worse, but even with two needing to be surgically removed (they hadn't broken through the gums yet, but were definitely impacted), it was a pretty quick recovery. Just don't expect to be gnawing on steak the day they're out.

For your brother though, I'm guessing having to remove two deeper will be considerably worse. I think he'll be eating a lot of soup, jell-o, and ice cream for a week.
 
  • #16
I had all 4 wisdom teeth impacted and the bottom two were facing sideways in my jaw. The roots in them formed hooks way into my jaw. My surgeon had to cut down first, then push the tooth down and twist it to get the sucker out. To top it off, he did this while I was awake! I just got a bazillion shots of novacaine (sp?). He even kept my xrays and wisdom teeth themselves as a "prize". lol. I recovered in about two weeks, but my right cheek was swollen for about a month.
 
  • #17
The Spawn of Evo had an entire second set of permanent teeth. They had to cut into the roof of her mouth to extract the second set that hadn't errupted yet. We discovered this when a perfectly healthy permanent tooth was pushed out by another. She still has that tooth, you can't tell it's a third tooth. Definitely a Land Shark. :bugeye:

Why can't we have at least three sets of teeth? Considering how much longer we live on average now.
 
  • #18
Perhaps the spawn of Evo is the next evolutionary step. :yikes:
 
  • #19
Evo said:
The Spawn of Evo had an entire second set of permanent teeth. They had to cut into the roof of her mouth to extract the second set that hadn't errupted yet. We discovered this when a perfectly healthy permanent tooth was pushed out by another. She still has that tooth, you can't tell it's a third tooth. Definitely a Land Shark. :bugeye:

Why can't we have at least three sets of teeth? Considering how much longer we live on average now.
Considering the number of cavities I wind up with (thanks to the British side of my family I suppose :rolleyes:), I sure could use another set to replace the ones I have. Maybe we'll have to get Spawn and MIH's brother together and let them have lots of babies so we start passing this trait along! :biggrin:
 
  • #20
Moonbear said:
(thanks to the British side of my family I suppose :rolleyes:)
Thats totally britishist! We do not all have rubbish teeth :frown:. Just because we don't subscribe to the bizarre practise of bleaching teeth doesn't mean they're rubbish. So :rasp::wink:

I have a habit of making up new smileys and hoping they exist :biggrin:
 
Last edited:
  • #21
zoobyshoe said:
A FOOL who still has all their wisdom teeth??! What were you thinking?? This explains all the inappropriate surges of good judgement that have been ruining your life and reputation lately.

You're on probation till Christmas, Missy.
I never thought about it that way. No wonder I am so confused.

I remember reading about this wacky holy man who believed that teeth were reservoirs for all our worries and troubles, so he yanked all of his out. He said he was absolutely blissful and encouraged all his followers to do the same.
 
  • #22
Moonbear said:
Considering the number of cavities I wind up with (thanks to the British side of my family I suppose :rolleyes:), I sure could use another set to replace the ones I have. Maybe we'll have to get Spawn and MIH's brother together and let them have lots of babies so we start passing this trait along! :biggrin:
Cool. Clan of the Shark People! :cool:
 
  • #23
I wish I had had the foresight to retain my wisdom teeth from the surgery.

It would have gone a long way towards completing my "Emergency Backup Dave", which I am slowly building from spare parts - just in case.
 
  • #24
Chi Meson said:
Dentists have said that having no wisdom teeth indicates being "farther along the evolutionary path."

So haveing more wisdom teeth means...
:not-really-serious smiley:
I just remembered, my dad and my aunt both have "twin toes" - the 2nd and third are webbed. I think my family is still trying to get the hang of this evolution thing that everyone seems to be doing. At least there are no cases of vestigial tails in the family as far as I know. :biggrin:
 
  • #25
I had buck teeth as a child because my mouth was too small for my teeth. My front teeth grew out nearly horizontal. I had 4 perfectly good teeth pulled and wore braces to push the front ones back into my mouth. When my wisdom teeth came in, they pushed everything forward a second time. I had those pulled and now I have 8 less than a full set. My mouth is still full of teeth and the front row buckled under the pressure from the back.
 
  • #26
Math Is Hard said:
I never thought about it that way. No wonder I am so confused.

I remember reading about this wacky holy man who believed that teeth were reservoirs for all our worries and troubles, so he yanked all of his out. He said he was absolutely blissful and encouraged all his followers to do the same.
Don't go crazy like that. Just try and do one little foolish thing a day to stay in practise till this impediment is removed.
 
  • #27
Evo said:
The Spawn of Evo had an entire second set of permanent teeth. They had to cut into the roof of her mouth to extract the second set that hadn't errupted yet. We discovered this when a perfectly healthy permanent tooth was pushed out by another. She still has that tooth, you can't tell it's a third tooth. Definitely a Land Shark. :bugeye:

Why can't we have at least three sets of teeth? Considering how much longer we live on average now.
How I WISH I had a third set!:cry: :cry: :cry:

(If you look carefully at the molars of my smileys there, you will see that a rototiller went right through them all and are now filled with poisonous mercury amalgam)
 
Last edited:
  • #28
I have to get something called a "panoramic x-ray". What is that like? Do you have to bite on anything? Does it involve a lot more radiation than regular x-rays?
 
  • #29
Math Is Hard said:
I have to get something called a "panoramic x-ray". What is that like? Do you have to bite on anything? Does it involve a lot more radiation than regular x-rays?

I think its something akin to this:


Drill-Dental-B.jpg


Say AHHHHHHHHH~
 
  • #30
ok, you're freaking me out, cyrus.:eek:
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
6K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
6K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 23 ·
Replies
23
Views
5K
Replies
8
Views
4K
Replies
8
Views
6K
  • · Replies 31 ·
2
Replies
31
Views
2K