Babies are being born without wisdom teeth

Question

This TikTok says that humans are going through a microevolution which is causing babies to be born with smaller and weaker jaws, causing no wisdom teeth to develop. Is this true?

Answer 1

There is evidence to support the claim that humans are evolving smaller jaws, which can result in the absence of wisdom teeth in some individuals. According to a study by Alan Mann and Janet Monge, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in 2015, "reduced size of the mandible has been documented for modern Homo sapiens relative to archaic and Middle Pleistocene hominins." (Mann & Monge, 2015, p. 10155). The authors note "the trend toward smaller mandibles is likely related to dietary and cultural changes that have reduced masticatory stresses" (Mann & Monge, 2015, p. 10155). Not all babies are born without wisdom teeth, and the development of wisdom teeth can vary among individuals due to genetics.

http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/april-28-2015-NAS-Election.html

Comments

Good work providing a clear explanation and finding a reputable source. How would you rate the claim?  True based on your findings?

Answer 2

An article from a dentistry website says that more and more babies are born without wisdom teeth. 

"As our faces are getting a lot shorter there is not as much room for teeth because of smaller jaws," from Gabby Bissett 

https://dentistry.co.uk/2020/10/14/babies-born-wisdom-teeth-microevolution/

Comments

Next time, you can specify the name of the source rather than say "a dentistry website" as your source. Overall, good job though.

Answer 3

It is misleading to say that all babies are born without wisdom teeth. While there is some truth, it does not pertain to every baby. According to dentistry.co.uk, the microevolution is resulting in more babies being born without wisdom teeth. 

https://dentistry.co.uk/2020/10/14/babies-born-wisdom-teeth-microevolution/

Answer 4

This is true! Court Mann of Deseret News referenced a scholarly journal written by professors Teghan Lucas, Jaliya Kumaratilake, and Maciej Henneberg in a recent article, "A new study published in the Journal of Anatomy found that humans are increasingly being born without wisdom teeth." Lucas works as a professor at the University of New South Wales in the Department of Archeology. Kumaratilake and Henneberg both work as professors at the University of Adelaide in the Discipline of Anatomy and Pathology.

Answer 5

This is true! According to a new study done by the Journal of Anatomy, humans are evolving faster than they have in the past 250 years. In this small evolution, it has been confirmed that babies are being born without wisdom teeth and with shorter faces/smaller mouths. An article written by Dentistry Online states ‘This is happening in time as we have learnt to use fire and process foods more. A lot of people are just being born without wisdom teeth.’

https://dentistry.co.uk/2020/10/14/babies-born-wisdom-teeth-microevolution/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/wisdom-teeth-evolution-humans-flinders-university-processed-food-b907634.html

Answer 6

It is true. According to the article from Dentistry Online in UK, the human race is evolving at a rate faster than it has done at any interval in the last 250 years. Babies have smaller mouths and less room for teeth to grow.  Dr Teghan Lucas from Flinders University, Adelaide said it is due to part of natural selection and our increased ability to chew food.

https://dentistry.co.uk/2020/10/14/babies-born-wisdom-teeth-microevolution/

https://news.sky.com/story/human-microevolution-sees-more-people-born-without-wisdom-teeth-and-an-extra-artery-12099689

Answer 7

This is primarily true according to an article on Dentistry, by Dr. Teghan Lucas, from Flinders University, Australia, who said "our increased ability to chew our food is a key factor." Moreover, she stated "As our faces are getting a lot shorter there is not as much room for teeth because of smaller jaws,"

https://dentistry.co.uk/2020/10/14/babies-born-wisdom-teeth-microevolution/

Answer 8

This is true according to Paul Ehrlich, a professor at Stanford University, there is a jaw epidemic occurring where babies are born with smaller and weaker jaws. The article also says that smaller and weaker jaws lead to no wisdom teeth and more orthodontic and health issues. 

https://news.stanford.edu/2020/07/21/toll-shrinking-jaws-human-health/ 

Answer 9

This is a true statement. According to Miss Gabby Bisset from Dentistry Online, the human race is passing through a microevolution with babies being born without wisdom teeth as proof. 

New research has emerged from the Journal of Anatomy study that showed babies have shorter faces which in turn leads to smaller mouths/smaller jaws and less room for teeth. 

This source cites Dr.Teghan Lucas, from Flinders University, Australia. She explains, "‘We have advanced as a species to the point where natural selection no longer removes the outliers in the gene pool.", and that is how natural selection is influencing this microevolution. 

Source: https://dentistry.co.uk/2020/10/14/babies-born-wisdom-teeth-microevolution/

Answer 10

This claim is true.

This article says that humans are going through a "microevolution" as more babies are being born without wisdom teeth. A study done by the Journal of Anatomy found that human heads are getting shorter which is causing smaller jaws. Because of the smaller jaws, babies do now have enough room for wisdom teeth to form. 

https://dentistry.co.uk/2020/10/14/babies-born-wisdom-teeth-microevolution/