/james-irwin

The Loss of Wisdom

3 November, 2005

Oh, the pain. Pain, pain, pain: I just had my wisdom teeth pulled a few days ago. Only two though; I only had two. The only thing I liked about the whole situation was being knocked out. It was weird. I don’t really remember when I went out, but the next thing I knew I was sitting in a different chair with my mom next to me. My bottom lip felt incredibly fat because they had numbed my mouth. After a while, the nurse and my mom helped me out to the car, and I slept the whole way home. I went to bed immediately and slept for about an hour. Then I woke up with all the numbness gone, and my jaw exploding with pain. I took one of the super pain-pills they had given me, and it put me back to sleep. I stayed in bed all that day and most of the next day. After that I was alright. My jaw still hurts, but I am back to all my activities.

What I want to know is why we even have wisdom teeth. What are they there for? You couldn’t even see mine; they were completely submerged in my gum. All they were doing was crowding my other teeth. Maybe primitive man needed them for chewing up raw meat and plants. Nowadays, the only purpose they serve is to keep the oral surgeons in business.

One thing I have learned from this experience is how much I like chewing. Living on soup, Jello, mashed potatoes, and Cream of Wheat isn’t the greatest. Right now I am severely craving a hamburger. Yesterday it was Chinese food. I just want to be able to tear into something! Urgh. The oral surgeon said that I might have to be on soft foods for three weeks or more. That’s a lot of Jello!

My advice, have a plethora of soft foods at your disposal before having this procedure done.