This drawing shows the masseter muscle, which is the shaded bulge in the side of the jaw.
The buccinator muscle is a muscle on the inside of the cheeks, in the area of the molar teeth. The buccal fat pad is an encapsulated mass of fat in the cheeks.
The wisdom tooth can be seen touching directly the buccinator muscle. The buccinator muscle touches the buccal fat pad, and the buccal fat pad touches the masseter muscle.
See how large the masseter muscle is, and how it interacts with the wisdom tooth. The wisdom tooth presses on the masseter muscle when the jaw is centered, and would press even more if the mandible would be moved to the side. And so, if the wisdom tooth were to be removed, the jaw would physically move differently.
(Copyright information for the pictures: Image 1 is the album cover of Avoda Ivrit, is used under fair use, for research and education purposes, is edited to add a caption and an arrow by me, and cannot be reused without permission by the original creators. Image 2 is not copyrighted being medical imaging.)
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