The evolution of humanity will make wisdom teeth disappear

Through a mathematical formula, Finnish scientists have explained the development of human teeth and they also predict that our wisdom teeth will eventually disappear during evolution.

As the evolution progresses, the human brain grows in size.Therefore, the jaw bone must shrink to balance the lower part of the skull.This results in no room for wisdom teeth to rise from the gums.(Photo: Sciencenordic)

According to Live Science, based on the structure and size of teeth, this formula is a completely new way to understand the history of human evolution and can even answer important questions about ancestors. we. For example, about 2.5 to 3 million years ago, the earliest species among the genus of the genus.

" This formula can objectively evaluate the evolution of different parts of the body, " said Professor Jukka Jernvall of the University of Helsinki in Finland, author of the study published in the journal Nature. February 25 said.

Teeth are an important clue in studying evolution because they are very hard and better preserved than skulls and other types of bones. In addition, teeth can reveal the survival of extinct species.

" Teeth are wonderful fossils. Much of our understanding of human evolution is due to dental research, " said Professor Peter Kjaergaard, director of the Danish Museum of Natural History.

He said that this method provides an important tool to investigate the evolutionary history of humanity through the study of fossil teeth.

The development of molars

In 2007, Jernvall and colleagues began an experiment to study the development of mouse teeth in the laboratory.

Research shows that teeth develop according to a process that starts from the jaw bone tissue. At the same time, when a tooth emerges, it releases a fluid that flows to the adjacent teeth and inhibits the development of this tooth.

" There has been a great debate about how teeth and teeth affect each other during development. We found that the first molar suppressed the adjacent tooth, continuing the This second inhibits the next tooth, and so we call it sequential inhibition , "said Professor Jernvall.

This system not only works on rats but also on all mammals, including humans.

Wisdom teeth will soon disappear

In primitive Africans, the deeper the teeth are located inside the jaw, the larger the size. Meanwhile, Homo (modern), on the contrary, M1 molar is the biggest. Human ancestors had 12 molars, equally divided between the upper and lower jaws, the teeth were numbered M1, M2, M3 in order from outside to inside. This layout is generally consistent among mammals, although each species has a different tooth size.

The numbered teeth: M1, M2, M3 are molars, C is canines, P3, P4 are premolars (molars).(Photo: Sciencenordic)

New research explains why our wisdom teeth (M3 molars) are gradually disappearing.

As the evolution progresses, the human brain grows in size. Therefore, the right jaw bone must be scaled to balance the lower part of the skull. This leads to the result that there is no room for M3 molars that wisdom teeth rise from the gums.

Researcher Alan Mann of Princeton University, USA, cites that in the Inuit ethnic group, living in Canada, Greenland and Alaska, up to 45% of the population has no wisdom teeth. Research has shown that in the past, this ethnic group had a larger tooth size than usual, so when the brain developed, the jaw narrowed, there was no room for wisdom teeth to grow.