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 tee...