Can Wisdom Teeth Grow Back or are They Just Paramolars?

There have been many instances throughout recorded dentistry where wisdom teeth have been removed only to find a few years later what appear to be new teeth growing in the sockets of the old. Some people assume this means that the wisdom teeth can actually re-grow once having been removed. That is not the case, however. Once gone, teeth do not regrow in any form unless what appears to be regrowth is simply a remnant of root that was never removed from the jaw during extraction. Remarkably, it is possible for teeth to appear in those sockets, though not the ones you may think.

Paramolars are basically a second set of molars that may go unnoticed throughout the years but when an existing tooth is extracted, this hidden tooth suddenly finds its way out into the world through that empty socket. Usually, paramolars can be located through simple x-rays during normal dental checkups. Some patients refuse x-rays and so those people rush to call the dentist once new teeth appear and ask, “can wisdom teeth grow back?” Often the dentist will laugh it off assuming that the person is reading more into the situation than what is really there.

Can Wisdom Teeth Grow Back or Should I Be Checked for Hyperdontia?

The condition of ‘re-growing’ teeth is known as hyperdontia. Hyperdontia means that extra teeth form in the gum line during the formation of the permanent teeth. These extra teeth are crowded and generally do not form in the proper alignment with the other teeth. Some of them will emerge from the side of the gumline and others will appear only when the first tooth is removed. Quite often the paramolar involved will be of an unusual shape. Others will appear perfectly normal but may not have a complete root system attached to the tooth. Sometimes if there is a root it may be imbedded only into the meat of the gums rather than attached to the jaw bone as it should be. This is due to the fact that the tooth never had enough room to grow in the proper direction while the full sets of permanent teeth were still in place.

Hyperdontia is the opposite of hypodontia, a condition where certain teeth are missing from the jaw line. They simply never appear in the first place and this condition is inherited, with children often growing up to find the very same teeth missing from their mouths that are missing from a parent’s mouth. This is not typically a problem with chewing but it can at times create a self-image issue, particularly when smiling. Actually hypondontia is a safer condition than its polar opposite, hyperdontia, as it leaves room for existing teeth to grow in properly while people with hyperdontia often have very little room between their teeth, making it a challenge even for a professional to floss their teeth.

Can Wisdom Teeth Grow Back or are these just ‘extra’ teeth?

Can wisdom teeth grow back? No. In fact, it is not a regrowth issue at all but merely a secondary growth one that occurs during adolescence when the normal sets of permanent teeth begin to appear in the jaw. Typically the problem can be resolved with oral surgery if the extra teeth are abnormal. If they are normal but just ‘extra’, they will probably cause no problems at all other than tooth crowding. A dentist can make the proper evaluation upon examination of the extra teeth.

Also check out information on wisdom teeth infection.

Tagged with: Can Wisdom Teeth Grow Back • hyperdontia

Filed under: Wisdom teeth removal

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