Wisdom Teeth

I find wisdom teeth fascinating. They are a third set of molars we don’t need anymore, some people have four while others have none. Why is there such a discrepancy from person to person? Our ancestors needed a third set of molars to aid in chewing, as their diets consisted of tough foods. For example; roots, nuts, leaves, uncooked meat, etc. According to Crest, 85% of people with wisdom teeth will need their wisdom teeth removed in their lifetime. Wisdom teeth are generally removed because there isn’t room in modern day mouths to fit all 32 teeth. Other reasons wisdom teeth are removed; they tend to come in crooked and are hard to clean causing decay. But not everybody has wisdom teeth, as we evolve it is becoming more common to be missing at least one wisdom tooth. Approximately 1/3 of the population isn’t born with a complete set of wisdom teeth. Certain demographics have an increased chance of not having all four wisdom teeth. 41% of Koreans, 38.4% of Bangladeshis, and 11.5% of Indians don’t have wisdom teeth. 100% of indigenous Mexicans never grow wisdom teeth, how cool is that?! Evolution has encouraged the absence of wisdom teeth, so does that mean those of you who are missing wisdom teeth are more evolved?