Do wisdom tooth eruption lead to crowded teeth? - Tooronga Family Dentistry in Glen Iris

Crowding of the lower front teeth is common problem for adults, regardless if they had or had not undergone orthodontic treatment when growing up. At the time that crowding starts to develop in the front teeth, wisdom teeth are starting to erupt too. For this reason it seems reasonable that the eruption of wisdom teeth, or third molars as they are described in the professional literature, was often cited as one of the causes for this development, claiming that as wisdom teeth erupt they push the other teeth, leading to crowding.

Research that was done in 1961 by Bergstrom & Jensen in patients that had wisdom teeth on only one side and they found more crowding of the teeth in the side where the third molar was present. Later in 1982, another group of researchers found that once the wisdom teeth were removed on one side only, the crowding had decreased on that side compared to the side where the wisdom teeth were present, but that happened in only 70% of the patients. These articles point to wisdom teeth as the reason for the crowding and the solution then would be the removal of the wisdom teeth.

However, other evidence in the literature did not find that third molars contribute to crowding. In those articles the researches compared the crowding of the teeth in patients that had undergone orthodontic treatment, who had or had not wisdom teeth. In those articles researchers found that crowding occurs regardless of the presence of third molars, and they do not appear to have a significant influence on the changes of tooth position after orthodontic treatment.

In a large review of the literature that was done in 2020 it was found that in those that had their wisdom teeth removed there was only a very small change of 1mm in the crowding in the front teeth. Hence it was concluded that it was not justified to remove wisdom teeth on the grounds of preventing crowding.

In summary there can be many reasons for the growing crowding in adults. These can be related to diet, growth of the jaws, shape of the teeth or the way orthodontic treatment was done. In order to prevent or treat the crowding of the lower incisors, there is a need for an examination with Dr. Kaufman. Please do not hesitate to contact us for advice about your wisdom teeth and crowding. We will be happy to examine and explain how your wisdom teeth are positioned and if there is a risk of crowding in the front teeth.