Wisdom Teeth

I'll be getting my wisdom teeth removed today, and I'd have to say that I'm not very worried.  I trust that the dentist's skills are more than sufficient, and considering that the position of my teeth make the procedure fairly standard mean that the likelihood of complication will remain, thankfully, low.  Of course, the other consideration is pain.  I've gathered that most people fear the dentist because of the physical discomfort that they have to suffer, but let's think about this for a moment.  How much does it hurt, really?  Obviously, compared to the continuous pain that certain people have to live with, a few hours of discomfort is more than worth it.  But is the procedure really that painful?  Is the level of pain dependent upon the complications that may arise during the procedure?  Or does this only prolong the recovery period that one must endure?  I honestly don't see why people worry.  It's not as if they don't give you anesthetic to dull the sensation.  Now if they were to go about drilling and cutting and pulling without so much as a warning, I'd be running as fast as I could in the opposite direction.

I'd have to say that I haven't been to the dentist in quite a while.  In fact, I can't even remember visiting the dentist at all.  Being gifted with relatively straight teeth, I've never felt the need for braces, and I don't have any terribly painful cavities either.  That being said, a common quote comes to mind: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  Just because I haven't felt the effects of any complications now doesn't mean that they're not there.  This is probably why I'm so eager to have these wastes of space removed from my mouth.  As far as general oral health is concerned, I can actually take preventative measures.  Wisdom teeth?  I can't really brush, rinse and floss them away.  If I could, I would, and I'm sure most would do the same.  Fortunately, my wisdom teeth haven't caused much discomfort so far.  But that's only so far.  I'm fairly sure that if I don't get them removed now, they're going to cause me more grief than I bargained for.

Getting more than you bargained for could be said about a lot of things.  It's not just limited to dentistry.  Think about lifestyles in general.  When you're getting your second coronary bypass, getting stuck to a dialysis machine, or being diagnosed with lung cancer, I don't think you'll be saying, "Ah, life well spent."  If it were me, I'd be wishing that I could get a do-over.  I'd think that a little diet, exercise and abstaining from excessive amounts of alcohol and smoking aren't so bad compared to getting a lung cut out of my chest.  I'm not saying that life shouldn't be enjoyed, or that life should be a list of worries and precautions.  Life should be lived, but there are ways to avoid future regrets and potential man-tits.

I guess that's one of the lessons that wisdom teeth impart.  The ailments of the future can be avoided by biting the bullet today.  Personally, I'm under the impression that if more people were to think about the long term, modern lifestyles would be much different than they are now.  We'd have less waste and more investment, less stupidity and more learning.  Global Warming, overpopulation, bad investment and economic prosperity could be achieved simple by taking that ounce of prevention.  The potential goods of humanity are just waiting to be pulled out of the backs of our mouths.  Let's pull them out.