Monday, July 26, 2010

Story of the Wisdom Tooth

Thanks to a curious girl friend who asked this question out of the blue yesterday, "Mitzi, would you know why we have wisdom teeth? Why do they exist anyway if they're only to be extracted?" And I was stirred to research about it.

It may seem to be a waste of blessings having two new but unwanted pairs of extra molars. This was not the case some thousands of years ago, particularly in the Paleolithic period of the stone age when people had an extremely different lifestyle (hunter-gathers), homes and diet. Their diet was filled with hard, rough meat and plants that required more chewing power. They literally bit off more than what they could chew. As a result, their jawbones became larger, their teeth cracked and some even got knocked out. Interestingly, wisdom teeth grew and pushed their other teeth forward to fill-in the gap.

We don't find use for these God-given molars because our teeth do not experience the same torture, especially at the present when we are able to eat much softer foods. The diet of today consumes more carbohydrates, vegetables and legumes. TENDERloin steaks and the recent rise of Wagyu Kobe beef have been the most popular choices for meat. People are willing to pay a fortune for the more delicate, or shall I say the more "teeth-friendly" cuts. Furthermore, new technologies have been created and new methods of cooking have been used since the very beginning of time.

I don't think simple evolution has a mind that can think of this and discern that people would need additional teeth to compensate for the lost ones. I doubt that wisdom teeth were also a result of a mere "coincidence" of nature. If that's the case then why would they always grow at the very back of the mouth? Or appear between the ages 17 to 25? They're simply too amazing to be a coincidence.

Cliche as it sounds, the story of the wisdom tooth reminds me that everything in this world exists for a reason. With His unlimited IQ, God has crafted and engineered all the details of the universe to perfection. And even this minute detail of our body, the wisdom tooth, was founded by Him. I guess the wisdom tooth does not only compensate for the lost ones, but it also serves as a reminder that God has the plan and He is in control.

The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. ~ Psalm 89:11

1 comment:

  1. Through the years, the existence of wisdom teeth has remained a mystery. In fact, there are some who don't grow one in the first place. And if a person happens to have wisdom teeth, there's an 85% chance that they have to be extracted. Furthermore, one study shows that wisdom teeth grow only later in life, since the first structure of a human jaw blocks its growth.


    Source: http://scienceline.org/2007/02/ask-cooper-wisdomteeth/

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