widsom tooth pulled

[77south]

Ten years ago, before they would let me go to Antarctica, Antarctic Support Associates told me I either needed all 4 wisdom pulled or a note from my dentist that they would never be a problem.  My dentist took some x-rays and told me they would have to come out.  All 4 were impacted, and I was unemployed so I couldn't afford full anesthesia, so I got the local.  I recall not feeling pain from the chisel they used to break the bone so they could get at the teeth, but every time the dentist swung the hammer my head rocked like I had just taken a punch in the face.  The wisdom teeth had turned sideways so the crown of the tooth was facing the roots of the neighboring molars.  When enough bone had been chipped away, the dentist reached in with pliers and snapped/cracked off the roots of the wisdom teeth and pulled out the fragments.  My gums took forever to heal and were still tender two weeks later when I got to McMurdo station.