wisdom teeth
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These teeth are associated with wisdom because they appear during the late teens or early twenties, when a person is physically mature. Often, the wisdom teeth may not rise above the gum line, but remain impacted in the jaw, causing inflammation. If this impaction occurs, or if they pose a threat to other teeth, the wisdom teeth may need to be removed.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Faced with a tapped-out bank account and the agony of impacted wisdom teeth, Natalie becomes a regular at a local blood-plasma donation center to help pay for the necessary dental work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
This places abfraction alongside other dental issues, such as impacted wisdom teeth and misaligned teeth, which are rare in wild primates but common in humans today.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
I got all four of my wisdom teeth out and was told the price would be around $700, but it actually ended up costing a little more than $1,000.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 10, 2025
A dentist informed her she required surgery to remove both lower wisdom teeth next week, for which she'll need to spend at least two weeks recovering.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
“Laughter comes later, like wisdom teeth, and laughter at yourself comes last of all in a mad race with death, and sometimes it isn’t in time.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
