There was a time when our jaws could comfortably accommodate all 32 teeth, including the third molars. About 100 million years ago, Early man's jaws were larger and accommodated all teeth and played a vital role in survival with it being their means of catching, dismembering and consuming prey. Our ancestors subsisted on a tough and chewy diet of leaves, roots and raw meat. Third molars might also have played an important backup role when Front teeth were lost or worn down. With advent of cooked and processed food, we definitely decreased our reliance upon the third molar.

Opponents of evolution place greater weight on the dietary shift and dental hygiene in lessening our reliance on wisdom teeth, discounting the role of our evolving jaws and brains.

But when you line up a prehistoric jaw and a modern jaw, the space is clearly smaller. Can evolution explain the shift? And if our evolutionary history has lessened the need for wisdom teeth and created conditions inhospitable to third molars, will we ever lose them completely?

Wisdom teeth don't appear in about 35 percent of the population. Are we on an evolutionary track to losing them altogether?

Some experts say it's possible these teeth will eventually disappear. Still, there are a few unknowns in the equation. Third molars develop entirely after birth, the only teeth to do so. Because these teeth aren't present at birth, it may be harder for nature to select against them.For wisdom teeth to form, the tissue that starts the process of tooth building has to migrate back in the mouth to interact with the back jaw tissue. If this migration doesn't happen, then no tooth will grow there.

Again, If people reach a point where they don't use a trait, they may lose it.