Many Wisdom Teeth Removed After Age 20 March 09, 2004 By Nancy Volkers InteliHealth News Service (INTELIHEALTH) - People are more likely to have their wisdom teeth surgically removed if the teeth have not started to come in at age 20, according to a Finnish study. A group of researchers studied 118 people at age 20 and again at age 38 to examine changes in their wisdom teeth (third molars). At age 20, some people's wisdom teeth had not yet begun to come in. Over the following 18 years, 73 percent of this group had their wisdom teeth removed. Other people's wisdom teeth were partially in, but not fully in, at age 20. In this group, 64 percent had their wisdom teeth removed by the time they turned 38. In the group that had their wisdom teeth in their mouths at age 20, only 50 percent had them taken out by the time they turned 38. Wisdom teeth are usually removed in the late teens or early twenties, often before they start to erupt into the mouth. Many people's mouths are not large enough to comfortably hold the wisdom teeth. If they are allowed to come in, they can become trapped in the jawbone (impacted) and cause pain and other symptoms. If they are not removed, wisdom teeth that have not fully erupted can continue to shift or move well into adulthood, dental experts say. The study appears in the February issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.