What’s Your Wisdom Tooth Story?

On Wednesday, a good friend is getting her wisdom teeth removed. She’s in her 30s, so she’s had her wisdom teeth for much longer than most people I know, but it’s time to get them out.

She’s pretty nervous about it, so I thought I’d share my brief wisdom tooth story and invite you to share yours (especially if it’s mundane and boring, as I suspect most wisdom tooth stories are).

I was in my teens when my dentist determined it was time to extract my wisdom teeth out. I’m always curious about what doctors and dentists are doing to me, so I opted to get local anesthesia. I was 100% awake and alert during the surgery.

I remember most of it being really easy, though there was one tooth they had to pound pretty hard. My memory may be incorrect–it must be, because they couldn’t have fit a hammer in my mouth–but I recall them hammering away at one tooth to get it out. Whatever it was, I was surprised by how loud it was.

I spent the rest of the day relaxing and being pampered, though my mom got tired of that pretty quickly, so I was left on my own to read, nap, and study. I was back on my feet the next day, and like most people, I probably started to eat solid food before I should. I was hungry! I didn’t like the feel of gauze in my mouth, nor the feeling of my gums being “loose,” but my mouth seemed to heal quite quickly.

And that was it. I don’t know if my life is significantly better or worse due to my wisdom teeth being gone, but I’m glad I no longer have to worry about them, and I hope that’s the case for my friend too.

What’s your wisdom tooth story?

4 thoughts on “What’s Your Wisdom Tooth Story?”

  1. I was still active duty at the time, stationed in England when one of my wisdom teeth started giving me pain. I went to the dental clinic, also known as the dental hobby shop to see if they could alleviate my excruciating pain. The dentist numbed the area and started talking to me about the paib. Moments later he had walked away after wiggling the tooth. Even with the novocaine I was able to ask how long would it take to take to extract? With that, he turned around and showed me the tooth he had already extracted and said “about that long.” It was a great experience by a very competent dentist

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  2. I must have had full anaesthesia because I remember nothing of the procedure itself. I came home with my cheeks packed with gauze, all chipmunk-like. My 8 year old brother asked in horror, “is she always going to look like that?”

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