I’m gonna clarify something for everyone. There have been horror stories about this, as well as comedic tales, and either one can be true, it can be you- or it could not be. The topic: getting your wisdom teeth removed.

Friday, October 16th, 10:30 A.M., I was scheduled to get all four of my wisdom teeth removed. For awhile the right side of my mouth had been aching off and on, a sign that my wisdom teeth were growing in. Originally I was just going to remove the ones that hurt, but my dentist had a good theory; if I was going to get knocked out why not have all the teeth removed at once? So that was the plan.

My brother had gotten his out the previous year, and he did horribly. This huge guy who equals two of me, and who is defiantly stronger than me, was crying like a baby, skipped some school, and he didn’t go back to being relatively normal until a week after. I was sort of nervous after witnessing that debacle.

I asked some friends about their experiences, and some had interesting stories. Being loony out of their mind, needing a wheelchair, taking four days to recover, that sort of mediocre level. One of my friends had a particularly rough time, and warned me that I wouldn’t be able to make it to school Monday, and that I would still be out of it by then.

As this article is being written, today is Monday, October 19.

The way my dentist does the wisdom teeth removal is by calling in a specialized doctor once a month. So that day the majority of people in that office were planning to get their wisdom teeth removed. I saw four people leave: one was unsteady, she needed the support of the nurse, the second was perfectly fine, walking on her own, saying it was a breeze, the third was the only male I saw that day, and he was out of it, and lastly a teenage girl much like myself, who used the support of the nurse but otherwise seemed unscathed.

“You looked like death warmed over,” my Mom said.

I hadn’t been that nervous when initially going in, it was when they started talking about the risks of having a hole in my mouth connected to my nose or having permanent paralysis, did I get ever so slightly concerned. What truly freaked me out was when they gave me a mask that expelled a mint tasting gas and the nurse said, “Don’t hold back your laughs, the laughing gas is meant to relax you.” I had no urge to laugh, was I suppose to? I didn’t have too much time to worry about it though, I was knocked out by then.

And just like that I was awake, feeling extremely cold. I slept on the car ride home, and perhaps a little after. By the third time I woke up, other than drooling out blood, I felt fine. But perhaps that was the drugs talking. Yet the next day, other than slight swelling, I was doing fantastic, and honestly, I’ve had so many mouth problems, this was a breeze in the park.

Ask my mom, she would say it was stubbornness that made me so eager to go to school Monday. And perhaps she’s 50% right. I did have a point to prove, but not just to the friend who promised me I would be miserable right about now, but to all those who have preconceived notions of getting their wisdom teeth removed. Some people have pain, others numb. I looked horrible coming out, but give it a couple of hours and I was eating pasta for dinner. My brother took a good five days off with life, while three days later I came to school. Different people act differently because we are different.

And it did feel nice when I saw my friend’s shock at seeing me.