A primary cause of wisdom tooth impaction is simply that there is inadequate jawbone space behind the person's second molar. Why this lack of space exists is not fully understood, however there does seem to be a correlation between large tooth size, tooth crowding, and the presence of impacted wisdom teeth. It has been theorized that the coarse nature of stone age man's diet had the effect of causing extensive tooth wear, not only on the chewing surface of the teeth but also on the sides of the teeth where neighboring teeth rest against them.
The net effect of this wear would be a reduction in the collective "length" of the teeth as a set, thus creating enough jawbone space to accommodate the wisdom teeth by the time they erupted. In comparison the diet of modern man does not usually cause a significant amount of this type of tooth wear.
It has also been argued that the coarse nature of stone age man's diet, as compared to modern man's relatively soft diet, probably required more activity of the "chewing" muscles. This activity could have stimulated greater jawbone growth, thus providing more space for wisdom teeth.
The harsh and threatening world of the cave man no doubt often lead to the occurrence of broken teeth and even tooth loss. Once a tooth (or a portion of it) is missing the teeth behind it have a tendency to move forward. This shifting would make more jawbone space available for the wisdom teeth. In comparison, with the advent of modern dentistry there are relatively few reasons why a tooth would be lost or remain in a state of disrepair.
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