Why can’t I keep my wisdom teeth?

I forgot to mention something in my earlier post about getting my wisdom teeth removed on the 23rd (which, by the way, is approaching far too quickly):

While talking to the nurse at the oral surgeon’s office, I asked her if I would be allowed to keep my wisdom teeth. I was serious in the request; I figured it’d be nifty to have them in a container on my desk or something. That way I could always claim to have at least some wisdom, even if it was sitting in a cup somewhere. That’s never to be, however; the nurse told me that I’m not allowed to keep my teeth, as they’re required by law to dispose of them as a biohazard.

What’s up with this? I distinctly remember as a kid being given my teeth from the dentist, handed over in little plastic teeth-shaped containers. At what age does a tooth transition from being something we’re allowed to keep to “oh noes, biohazard!”?

Comments 4

  1. Joshua J. Slone wrote:

    Maybe at the age where they start coming in sideways kamikaze patterns.

    Posted 20 Mar 2009 at 12:23 pm
  2. Josh wrote:

    Hey, my top wisdom teeth came straight down; they’re a big large, as they hang lower than my other teeth, but they’re at least vertical. :) Now the lowers.. fair point. They’ll probably have to break those to get them out. But still, why can’t I have the chunks?

    Posted 21 Mar 2009 at 5:28 pm
  3. Tom wrote:

    Try not to despair at having to eat through a straw for a few days. :)

    Just remember, you only have to do this once.

    As for keeping them… why? Even if you want to make cheesy jokes it doesn’t make sense. You historians, so sentimental. :)

    Posted 22 Mar 2009 at 8:33 am
  4. Zeitlos wrote:

    Perhaps american wisdom teeth can be turned into a dangerous nucelar weapon when they are freshly removed out of the bone. European wisdom teeth in contrast are pretty harmless. I’ve kept mine in a glass bottle of afri-cola with 75 percent alcohol for a few years. Looked pretty cool, because I even had five wisdom teeth, and two of them were grown together.

    Good luck for tomorrow!!!

    Posted 22 Mar 2009 at 1:53 pm

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