@Stephanie: I'm like that with the dentist as well ;D Well, the fear of the dentist. I don't have to get sedated lol. I just have a wisdom tooth that grew in with a cavity and I've been putting it off for a good year ;D and well, I need them all pulled. Been putting THAT off since I was about 15. ;D

Part of me wishes my dad would have made me go through with getting my wisdom teeth pulled when I was younger, like the dentist wanted to. I just know he would never have been able to, because they wouldn't put me to sleep! Can you even imagine?! They wanted to DIG my wisdom teeth out of my GUMS (they hadn't even grown in yet!) without putting me to sleep. They just wanted to give me a few shots in my gums! NO THANKS. :|

Some people are just crazy, I swear.

Lol I had teeth removed as a child for an overcrowded mouth, with 'a few shots in my gums' and honestly, after the injections, you feel nothing.

@Acid Fairy: I heard removing children's teeth is drastically different from adult, or even wisdom teeth. Something with the roots or whatever. :-/

@Patchwork Princess: My dad had a tooth removed last year. I understand it wasn't pleasant after the local anaesthetic wore off, but it wasn't like OMG THE PAIN haha. But anyway, there's no need to be put under general anaesthetic for it ;)

@Acid Fairy: My dad has had them pulled as well, he told me it wasn't terrible, just the aftermath (like your dad said ;D)

Where I live, basically everyone gets put to sleep for their wisdom teeth, I've never met anyone who hasn't been. I'm not sure if the same applies to other states, though. So needless to say, to me, it was pretty appalling when they said they just wanted to give me some shots to get all four taken out!

I remember my mom and dad were more shocked than I was - because when they had theirs taken out they were put to sleep for the procedure. (My dad has his removed in the '50s! My mom was the early or mid '60s.) Truth be told, my mom was more adamant than I was about not making me go through with it. ;D

Hey Jess...I was "twilighted" for both sessions of wisdom teeth pulling and to be honest, I wish I had been knocked out. I won't go into details...but, yeah...if you're going to have them out any time, get sedated! I think it's part of the reason I have such severe dental anxiety...to the point that I want to be sedated for ANYTHING! I can deal with the pain afterward (nothing a few vicodin won't cure) but I don't want to be awake during any of it, even just a cleaning...nope, not gonna do it! lol

...do I know you?

We've chatted before about the fact that we both live in Milwaukee and how rare it is to find someone on bloop that lives in the same area. :)

Ah ;D I was confused why someone I didn't recognize would call me Jess.

Haha - when you've been on Bloop for ages, everyone knows who you are. Especially if you've been involved in/created dramaz! :P And especially if you've had diary names that are your name, and lots of people refer to you as that name! Like, seriously, you've always been called Jess by Bloopers, whether you've known them or not - from back in the FAT CLUB day. Just like I've always been called Estella by Bloopers, whether I know them or not. And just like you referred to Elizabeth Taylor as Liz Taylor, despite the fact she didn't know you and her official name was Elizabeth Taylor. This is how life works. When someone is well known, they become known as the name that everyone uses.

Some teeth do need to be removed under general anaesthetic. I know because I've anaesthetised adults to have teeth removed. I'm not exactly sure what the criteria is for requiring a GA (as I'm not a dentist and don't make those decisions!), but sometimes it is necessary.

My orthodontist said that getting braces as an adult is more painful. I didn't believe him when I was first getting set up for them. Within hours, holy crap I was crying. But it was totally worth it. I spent my entire childhood and teen years with the moniker Bucked Tooth Beaver and my self-esteem disappeared. Three years later, no braces on anymore, and I don't regret it at all. And the flossing is so much easier!
Cost sucked, but I was okay with spending money on something that was worth it in my eyes. I don't really see how it was cosmetic, however. My wisdom teeth would have grown into other teeth if it wasn't for the braces.

@The Spirit: Thats how I feel about braces as well. I've prepared myself for years that braces are going to cause pain similar to childbirth ;D

I'm glad you got your teeth all fixed! I envy you with your easy flossing ;)

People think that braces is just a cosmetic issue, but usually of people have crooked teeth they also probably had TMJ issues. Which is probably why your daughter has an overbite. I'd get her braces ASAP because they can stop the top jaw from growing whole the bottom jaw catches up. They can only do this while the jaw is still developing. TMJ issues are very painful and it is a health issue, not just a cosmetic issue.

My post above was to the girl talking about getting her daughter braces, also sorry for the typos I am on my phone.

In this little girls case, I would have allowed her to have the procedure done ONLY if SHE was the one who wanted it, and the risks were very, very minimal.

Although I am more for team "teach your children to love themselves & the fact they were created uniquely," as opposed to team "teach your children if there is a physical feature they don't like, they can drop a few K and go under the knife to fix it."

Next, are we going to allow the 13 year old to get breast implants because some ignorant little boy taunts her with the "roses are red, violets are black, why is your chest as flat as your back?" poem that I heard a million times throughout school? You've got to draw the line somewhere, and actually PARENT instead of just let them CHANGE their body whenever OTHERS aren't satisfied with what they see.

I won't comment on the issue itself but I needed to let you know that I have never heard that mean little poem before and I about died laughing when I read it. So, thank you for that much needed laugh. :)

In this little girls case, I would have allowed her to have the procedure done ONLY if SHE was the one who wanted it, and the risks were very, very minimal.

Although I am more for team "teach your children to love themselves & the fact they were created uniquely," as opposed to team "teach your children if there is a physical feature they don't like, they can drop a few K and go under the knife to fix it."

Next, are we going to allow the 13 year old to get breast implants because some ignorant little boy taunts her with the "roses are red, violets are black, why is your chest as flat as your back?" poem that I heard a million times throughout school? You've got to draw the line somewhere, and actually PARENT instead of just let them CHANGE their body whenever OTHERS aren't satisfied with what they see.

I've actually done one of these surgeries. The little girl had lop ear (not just prominent ones) and honestly it was one of my favorite surgeries to scrub in on. I was genuinely helping that little girl, who was very shy and timid as a result from being bullied over her ears. I have big ears, but I wouldn't get them pinned, so if that was just the issues with my child, I doubt I'd result to cosmetic surgery. However a lopped ear, like this little girls', I would totally seek surgery for my child if he/she desired it.

I hate that the media is making such a big deal out of this. Have you seen that little girl’s ears, pre-surgery? Jesus, I would have had them operated on if they looked like that too! In fact, my cousin who had similar ears had hers pinned back in the 5th grade, so she must have been around 10 at the time. To the people who think it’s too controversial, I tell them: If your child had a visible deformity, wouldn’t you help them feel better about themselves by fixing it? Or would you rather have the child traumatized throughout his or her life because of it? I’m all for celebrating your individuality and doing things that are age-appropriate, but it’s not like this kid was getting a boob job at the age of seven, for gawd’s sake!

I'd be interested to know how many of the people who have posted that they think this sort of surgery is outrageous would have their male baby circumcised? Afterall, it mostly seems to be Americans objecting to this child having her ears pinned, yet in America it is quite the accepted practice to circumcise baby boys right after birth. Ear pinning is correcting an anatomical abnormality, and at an age where a child can have a say in the decision. And it's done under anaesthetic. Circumcision on the other hand is changing completely NORMAL anatomy, purely for cosmetic reasons (there is no health benefit), and is performed often with little or no anaesthetic (in America, quite different in UK), long before the child is old enough to get any say in if they want it or not.

wasn't there already a huge thread about this on bloop?

Yes, and a large number of Anericans saw no problem with circumcision. Yet quite a few seem to find ear pinning outrageous. So I an curious if the people who are so against ear pinning are against circumcision of baby boys.

ears and penises are completely different things..

anywho, i've known guys who aren't circumcised who say they wish they were. it's a cultural thing. and it's not like any boys remember having it done anyways.. these are two completely different things imo.

@dimples: I think us Brits find it weird because like NO ONE is circumcised here (well aside from the Jewish). No one. I'd find it so odd if I was with a bloke that was. I'd be like OH GOD YOU'RE MISSING SOME SKIN ;D I don't see the point, like are American women so shallow that they really care and demand a man with less penis skin?! As for the hygiene argument; British men can keep theirs clean, I don't see why Americans couldn't.

Anyway, just because it's cultural doesn't mean it's a good idea ;)

But they are quite similar issues. Just the ears are more noticeable. Hopefully with penises, only family members/doctors/lovers are going to see that, and they're not the type of person to make fun of someone's appendage... I hope!