Give me Novocaine

As much as I dreaded to hear what my dentist had to tell me during this recent appointment, I knew it was best to finally have my wisdom teeth extracted.

Wisdom teeth are third molars that usually appear between the ages of 18 and 20 (although they may appear at any age, or may not appear at all). They are called "wisdom teeth" because they appear much later than the other teeth, at an age where people are supposedly wiser than as a child. It is possible that wisdom teeth were useful when it was common for humans to lose several teeth to decay by the age when they appear. Yet often they are extracted for two general reasons: either the wisdom teeth have already become impacted, or the wisdom teeth could potentially become problematic if not extracted. Potential problems caused by the presence of properly grown-in wisdom teeth include infections caused by food particles easily trapped in the jaw area behind the wisdom teeth where regular brushing and flossing is difficult and not effective. Such infections may be frequent, and cause considerable pain and medical danger.

The moments after the extraction were of such great agony that my life was temporarily put in limbo. Bleeding was inevitable and lasted up to a day. As advised by my dentist, rinsing out one's mouth during this period would be counter-productive, as the bleeding stops when the blood forms clots at the extraction sites, and rinsing out the mouth will most likely dislodge the clots. I had to bite onto a gauze and consume porridge for meals.

Yet I trust my dentist's advice and this pain was no more than an investment to better dental health and reduced risk of complications in future.

On a lighther side, here's a joke: Why were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 so afraid?

Answer: Because 7 8(ate) 9.