Wisdom teeth are the third molars, the very last teeth to arrive in the mouth.

In kid words

A wisdom tooth is one of a few extra teeth that can show up way at the back of your mouth when you are older, more of a teenager than a kid your age right now.

Not everybody's come in exactly the same way, and that's all right. Your dentist keeps an eye out for them at your regular checkups as you keep growing.

The parent version

Wisdom teeth, also called third molars, are the last set of molars to develop, typically arriving at the very back of the mouth during the teenage years or later. Some come in with plenty of space, and some do not, which is part of what a dentist keeps watching for as a child moves through adolescence.

Whether a specific wisdom tooth ever needs attention, including whether removal makes sense, is an individualized question worked out with your pediatric dentist, never a general rule applied to every teenager the same way. Ask about your own child's mouth rather than a friend's story or a general guideline.

Where you might hear it at our office

Wisdom teeth become a genuine watch item once the teenage years arrive here, followed the same unhurried way we track every tooth as it grows in. That tracking happens at routine visits, exactly what our cleanings and exams page walks through, checkup by checkup, age by age.

If a wisdom tooth ever needs more than watching, that conversation happens directly with your pediatric dentist, based on your teenager's own mouth rather than a standard timeline. Other unfamiliar words are covered in the rest of the dictionary.

Related words

Molar. Impaction. Eruption.