Wisdom Teeth Often Decayed in Older Adults
March 10, 2010

By Nancy Volkers
InteliHealth News Service

INTELIHEALTH - Most people with decay in their wisdom teeth also have decay in other teeth, says a study.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, did the study. They looked at information from 2,003 adults who had at least one visible wisdom tooth. Dentists call wisdom teeth "third molars." People in the study were between 52 and 74 years old.

Researchers found that 77% of the people studied had decay in at least one wisdom tooth. Almost all the people with this kind of decay were more likely to have decay in their other teeth as well. Only 1% of people who had decay in wisdom teeth had no decay in any other teeth.

People with decay in their wisdom teeth also were more likely to be white.

Untreated decay in wisdom teeth was more common in people with less education and lower income. For example, about 19% of low-income people had untreated decay, compared with 5% of those with higher income.

Fillings in wisdom teeth were more likely in people with more education and higher income. For example, 77% of people with higher income had fillings in their wisdom teeth, compared with 60% of those with lower income.

The study appears in the March issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.