Why do we have crooked teeth when our ancestors didn’t? - G. Richard Scott
4,029,567 Views
2,879 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
According to the fossil record, ancient humans usually had straight teeth, complete with wisdom teeth. In fact, the dental dilemmas that fuel the demand for braces and wisdom teeth extractions today appear to be recent developments. So, what happened? While it’s nearly impossible to know for sure, scientists have a hypothesis. G. Richard Scott shares the prevailing theory on crooked teeth.
Some assume the congenital absence of third molars (i.e., missing wisdom teeth) is associated with the long-term trend toward decreasing jaw size. Are these two things related or unrelated? What happens when you have third molars but there is not enough space in the jaw to get them in proper alignment? Do you think all populations of the world show the same frequency of missing wisdom teeth? Is this likely or unlikely based on the underlying causes of missing wisdom teeth?
Sign in to answer questionAbout TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator G. Richard Scott
- Director Igor Coric, Artrake Studio
- Narrator Addison Anderson
- Music Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
- Sound Designer Nirana Singh, cAMP Studio
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Senior Producer Anna Bechtol
- Associate Producer Sazia Afrin
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Editorial Producer Cella Wright
- Script Editor Emma Bryce
