Age and wisdom teeth in Nigeria.

An attempt has been made to estimate the eruption age of wisdom teeth in the North Nigerian population. The present study was carried out on 654 boys and 584 girls of age groups ranging from 11-23 years. From the data collected estimates have been provided for the eruption age of the third molar. In general, teeth of the lower jaw erupt before those of the upper jaw. The teeth on the left side erupt earlier than those on the right side. The wisdom teeth erupt little earlier amongst boys (18 years) as compared with girls (18.5 years). In general, the wisdom teeth erupt in Nigerians with some constancy between the age of 15 and 21. The wisdom teeth fail to erupt in 5% of the individuals.