Did our recent ancestors (before dentist offices) live their entire lives with intense tooth/jaw pain then? Or were they just eating tougher, chewier food as we were designed to, so everything grew in properly

I can't imagine humans being designed in such a way that we need to rip parts of our body out

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People without dental care as Americans know it often have some pain and, more often, somewhat aesthetically displeasing, though still quite functional, teeth. Modern Britons often fall into this category; some blame socialism. Jawbone size is what mainly determines impaction rates, and it is not affected by exercise (only muscles and connective tissues are so affected). Jawbone size is genetically determined, and it has been falling as our survival became more dependent on our brains than our choppers. Evolution often, perhaps always, involves tradeoffs and half-finished processes. Tyrannosaurus Rex was huge and formidable, but his brain was the size of a grapefruit and his front legs might as well not have existed.

Teeth removal has been a thing since before ancient Egypt. Dude seriously, google is free, fucking use it, it doesn't hurt I promise 😉