Timeline: YouGov polls show generational differences in wisdom teeth removal

A recent YouGov survey reveals a generational shift in how Americans approach wisdom tooth removal, with younger adults increasingly challenging the long-standing norm of routine extraction.

“In the past few decades, there has been growing evidence that removing undiseased wisdom teeth may have more costs than benefits,” said Alexander Rossell Hayes, senior data scientist at YouGov, who analyzed the trend 

While the American Dental Association (ADA) has not issued a formal reversal of its earlier stance, other health authorities have taken clearer positions:

• In 2000, the UK’s National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) began discouraging routine removal of asymptomatic wisdom teeth.
• In 2008, the American Public Health Association (APHA) issued a statement opposing the preventive removal of healthy third molars.
• In 2010, the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) published a report concluding that removal of undiseased, asymptomatic wisdom teeth is generally unnecessary, advocating for a case-by-case, watchful-waiting approach, especially in the absence of pathology.

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Wisdom Tooth Removal Timeline in the U.S. from YouGov:

Before 2000

• 67% of Americans who turned 20 before 2000 had their wisdom teeth removed.
• Routine removal was widely recommended by major dental associations in the U.S. and internationally.

2000–2008

• 48% of Americans who turned 20 during this period had their wisdom teeth removed.
• This group likely encountered the early wave of scientific skepticism about routine removal.
• However, no major U.S. organizations had yet discouraged the practice.

2009–2015

• 35% of Americans who turned 20 in this period had their wisdom teeth removed.
• This group reached age 20 after the APHA began discouraging routine removal of asymptomatic wisdom teeth.

2016 and Later

• Only 29% of Americans who turned 20 in 2016 or later have had their wisdom teeth removed.
• This number may rise slightly, as 14% say their wisdom teeth have not yet emerged.
• The trend reflects a continued decline in routine extractions, aligned with updated public health guidance and growing awareness of evidence-based dental care.