College Humor: Extracting Wisdom

There’s one familiar milestone on the road to the college launch that doesn’t get much press. Oral surgery. This pre-college dental rite of passage just might be the universe’s way of giving parents one final dose of feeling really needed before the dorm drive-by. Wisdom teeth extraction packs every aspect of parenting into a 24-hour period: chauffeuring (someone’s got to drive the sedated teen to and from the procedure), worrying, pain control, comforting, hovering, issuing restrictions, and providing food. It’s a heck of a way to wrap up the summer, but someone’s gotta do it. I think a successful experience involves giving it up to a great oral surgeon and focusing on ice. Ice packs. Ice cream. Armed with a milk shake, any parent can be a teen’s hero. Now that our family has met this milestone, I’m left to ponder how these pesky molars got their name.

If these teeth are so wise, why do they grow the wrong way?

And isn’t extracting wisdom from a college-bound student a bad idea?

I realize it’s time to let go of worrying. Maybe a milk shake will help.

© 2011 Dr Nancy Berk, author of the new parent survival guide College College Bound and Gagged: How To Help Your Kid Get Into A Great College Without Losing Your Savings, Your Relationship, or Your Mind

 

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