The mouth is the gateway to everything in your body, it is the beginning of the human digestive tract, and usually the first thing people notice when they meet you. I chose to do my research on oral health and finding out how people care for their teeth. Being in the dental field I am constantly surrounded by people with varying health conditions. My career goal is to become a dentist, and with that providing patient knowledge is key. The things I learned while in dental assisting school made me realize how uninformed people are about their oral health and proper ways to take care of their teeth. By conducting this survey, I am interested in learning the basics of the classes dental habits.
My survey was taken by an array of men and women …show more content…
Some people may have more or less than that depending on a number of factors. The last set of teeth to grow in are the third molars, or “Wisdom Teeth” as they are often referred to and begin to erupt around the ages of 17-21. Most of the time there is not enough room in the mouth for the wisdom teeth to fully erupt. This can cause pain, infection, damage to surrounding teeth, and extensive cavities. Having wisdom teeth removed is not proven to be a cultural norm, as some people might think, but based on the patient’s need and dentist recommendation. Before calculating the results of the survey, I hypothesized that students in the older age groups would have a higher percentage of their wisdom teeth being previously taken out. However, I anticipated that if the percentage for the younger age group was high, the result would change in a few years for those students. The New York Times did a piece titled, Wisdom of Having That Tooth Removed, in which they interviewed dentists from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. The Association stated, “80 percent of young adults who retained previously healthy wisdom teeth developed problems within seven years, and that retained wisdom teeth are extracted up to 70% of the time,” (New York Times). If a patient is lucky enough to not have any issues with their wisdom teeth, or if they have enough room in their mouth for them to grow in, it is very important to remember proper dental care is still needed to maintain good oral
My survey was taken by an array of men and women …show more content…
Some people may have more or less than that depending on a number of factors. The last set of teeth to grow in are the third molars, or “Wisdom Teeth” as they are often referred to and begin to erupt around the ages of 17-21. Most of the time there is not enough room in the mouth for the wisdom teeth to fully erupt. This can cause pain, infection, damage to surrounding teeth, and extensive cavities. Having wisdom teeth removed is not proven to be a cultural norm, as some people might think, but based on the patient’s need and dentist recommendation. Before calculating the results of the survey, I hypothesized that students in the older age groups would have a higher percentage of their wisdom teeth being previously taken out. However, I anticipated that if the percentage for the younger age group was high, the result would change in a few years for those students. The New York Times did a piece titled, Wisdom of Having That Tooth Removed, in which they interviewed dentists from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. The Association stated, “80 percent of young adults who retained previously healthy wisdom teeth developed problems within seven years, and that retained wisdom teeth are extracted up to 70% of the time,” (New York Times). If a patient is lucky enough to not have any issues with their wisdom teeth, or if they have enough room in their mouth for them to grow in, it is very important to remember proper dental care is still needed to maintain good oral