Wisdom Tooth: The Reckoning

I never got my wisdom teeth taken out. I have a really big mouth. (No snide remarks, please.) At the time, I was really happy that I didn't have to have them out, since this meant an avoidance of . . . you know . . . having them out. Which I imagine isn't the best feeling in the world. And since I'm all for avoiding pain when possible, that was a plus.

Of course. which great power mouths comes great responsibility. My dentists always warned me I'd have to watch out for those wisdom teeth--taking great care to brush all the way heck back there. And I'd usually do as they asked. For the first few weeks after every appointment. But in the end, I'd return to my wicked lazy brushing ways.

For three decades, that wasn't a problem.

This week, the time had come for a reckoning. Not a huge, wisdom-teeth-getting-yanked sort of a reckoning. No--my wisdom teeth have decided to take the slow but steady root route to inflicting pain. Step one was get some cavities. I knew I had to have a couple filled on Tuesday. They were supposed to be minor, but it turns out, my wisdom teeth are much sneakier than that. They'd made a small impact on the outside of the tooth, but had let decay burrow its way much deeper into the inside of the tooth than any dentist could expect.

If you've read the blog for a long time, then you'll recall that I'm a complete wuss when it comes to dentists. Pretty much scared stiff of them drills and shots. In the end, did the actual drilling cause much pain? Maybe not, though I needed three shots of Novocaine to get through it, but the fear of possible pain was more than enough to keep me occupied throughout the ordeal.

The good news is that it's over. I still have the teeth. (Which will no doubt seem like bad news, come the day when they have to be yanked for good.) My mouth is still pretty achy. (Drilling a wisdom tooth means you have to have your mouth really wide open for a long time. Less than fun.

My dentist is a really nice guy, but I still hate going to see him. :-)

And for those of you who have stuck with this post for this long, here's my favorite dentist scene from film. (Hey--any of you BYU Film/Lit students notice that Steve Martin with dark hair looks a lot like Dennis Cutchins? Ot is it just me?)