Little evidence exists to support removing impacted wisdom teeth.
According to the review authors, led by Theodorus (Dirk) G. Mettes of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center in the Netherlands, wisdom teeth—third molars that typically make an appearance when individuals are between age 17 and 24—often fail to break the gum line, or do so only partially. These so-called impacted wisdom teeth have the potential to cause a host of problems, including swelling or ulceration of the gums around these teeth, cysts or tumors, and damage, decay, or disease in the second molars. However, many people can go their entire lives without these teeth causing any problems.