A few years ago I was at a party in Newport Beach and found myself buttonholed by an elderly dentist who had a real thing for wisdom teeth. He talked my ear off about how the dental profession removed way too many wisdom teeth unnecessarily even though most of them don’t do any harm. I didn’t know anyone else at the party, so I didn’t really mind listening, and by the time he ran down I had to admit that he seemed surprisingly convincing. 
I didn’t have any personal stake in this since my wisdom teeth were removed long ago,1 but he seemed to make a pretty good case. Then I left the party and forgot about it.
Anyway, the guy’s name was Jay Friedman, and it turns out that he is to wisdom teeth—aka third molars—what I am to lead poisoning and crime. I had no idea at the time. But if you’re curious to read more about this, Rob Wile has you covered. It’s worth noting that lots of dentists think Friedman is full of crap, but it’s also worth noting that apparently more of them are coming around to a somewhat more cautious view of the whole thing. Bottom line: You might want to think twice if your dentist tells you to get your wisdom teeth removed just as a precaution.
1I wasn’t having any particular problems. One of them was slightly impacted, and my dentist figured I might as well get them all taken out. I shrugged and said fine. Nor did I have any problems: a little bit of pain, but not much, and a day or two of eating pudding. I couldn’t figure out why people make such a big deal out of it. I guess some of you had it a lot worse, didn’t you?
