[Eleven] 사랑니 Wisdom Teeth

Hello everyone,  안녕하세요 ^^

I hope you are doing well! I haven't posted an article on my blog for a long time; but I do update my twitter pretty often. I update current events in English and Korean, and information about Korean entertainment news, K-Pop, Korean language, and more! Please Follow sunflowerchoco on Twitter

For the last couple of days, my mouth has been aching so much because one of my wisdom tooth is coming out. Did you experience pain when your wisdom teeth were growing in? I have asked some of my friends about it. But, all they seemed to talk about what having their wisdom teeth removed. Some told me that the surgery was not too bad-others said their whole mouth was swelled up for a couple of days. Is it supposed to hurt when the tooth is growing in?

I think it is normal that it hurts. I was searching online to learn more about wisdom teeth and since most people today have smaller jaws, there is not enough room to accomodate the wisdom teeth. Okay so here it says...

" Partially erupted teeth are considered to be impacted...Repeated soreness around the wisdom teeth is often mistaken as an effort on the part of the wisdom teeth to erupt. This soreness, however, could be a sign of infection. Surrounding bone, tooth roots and adjacent teeth may be harmed if left untreated". (http://www.dentistryonbay.com/index_files/Page482.htm)  

I have an appointment with the dentist on April 6! 일주일 반이나 기다려야 되네요... (I have to wait about a week and a half!) 

Anyways, while I was looking up information about wisdom teeth, I thought it was interesting to notice how in Korean we don't usually translate "wisdom teeth" to 지치 (pronounced: ji-chi) (智齒) which means wisdom teeth. Instead, we call it 사랑니 (sa-rang-ni). For those of you who study Korean or have watched Korean dramas, you might remember that 사랑 (sa-rang) means love. Yes, that's right. Wisdom teeth in Korean is called "love teeth".



I think 사랑니 is considered as a symbol of "coming of age" more so in Korea than in the West. There have been multiple songs, books, and one movie called 사랑니.

I think the most popular one would be the ballad song called 사랑니 featuring the groups "S"= 강타, 신혜성, 이지훈. 

No, the song is not about wisdom teeth-but the song is about the pain of not being able to see somebody they love.  

When I heard it the first line of the song, I was thinking, "Are they actually singing about wisdom teeth?"

The song starts out like this: "많이 아파요..." (man-ee  ah-pa-yo) (It hurts a lot...)



I instinctively though, "Yes, it hurts a lot for me T.T "

The song is about love-not 사랑니. But, maybe there is a connecting between 사랑니 and 사랑 in this song. Perhaps the person who wrote the lyrics to this song was thinking about someone she/he fell broke up with when her/his wisdom teeth was coming out. (Ouch!) (I am not sure, but nevertheless, it's a great song ^^)

I hope that you will not have to experience too much pain when your wisdom teeth are growing in, or when you have to have them removed! Make sure to visit the dentist in advance before it starts to hurt. I heard that you can get them removed before they start growing in!

모두들 건강하세요~
Take care everyone ^^

-sunflowerchocolate-
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P.S. Update! I got one of my wisdom tooth pulled out yesterday! (March 31, 2010) (It turns out that tooth was causing so much pain because it was infected) It didn't hurt too much during the surgery, but then, afterwards, it was pretty painful. Tips: Ice your cheek area to prevent swelling and put a gauze over where the tooth was pulled out to stop the bleeding by putting pressure over the area. When the bleeding is slowing down, try putting a tea bag (yes, a tea bag) over the same area. It will help the blood to clot and lessen the bleeding. Oh, don't forget to take all the medicine that your dentist prescribed! Expect to be in bed for at least one whole day to recover. Good luck!