Many people have jaws that are not large enough to accommodate wisdom teeth.

This can cause difficulty in cleaning either the wisdom teeth, the adjacent molars, or both, which often leads to tooth decay, pain, swelling, and sometimes infection. Other problems created by wisdom teeth include cysts, tumors, and loss of bone/weakening of the jaw. For these reasons it is wisest to have your wisdom teeth removed when you are young so that you can avoid such problems as well as take advantage of the rapid healing characteristic of youth.