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Comment by wil421 | Hacker News Reader

My friend was in the Marines and had to get is wisdom teeth removed. Lucky for him they were training Marine dentist at his base.

He said they wiped some type of numbing gel and proceeded to grab his wisdom teeeth out with pliers. The trainee couldn't get them out so the instructor climbed on his chest and yanked them out.

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My wisdom teeth happened to come in pretty straight and level. When I was in the Army, the dentist there suggested having them taken out during AIT (primary MOS training school), but it wasn't an order. I nope'd right out of that because I had heard about a dozen stories like yours.

I can confirm. I had the same experience minus the trainee. Had my wisdom teeth extracted while in the Marines. It was over in less than 30 seconds - no time for anesthesia to kick in nor do I remember him administering any. Crack, crack, yank - done.

Much depends on the position of the teeth. Pulling some with pliers would cause so much bleeding that choking could kill the patient (teeth still well below gum line).

You could just do the operation with the patient laying face-down on a massage table (the kind with a head-hole), so that the blood runs out of their mouth instead of down their throat. Might be a lot of blood loss, though; you'd want to wear goggles while doing the yanking. :)

My wisdom tooth extraction was a minor disaster. I have an extremely sensitive gag reflex, and the surgeon just couldn't do his job. Had to knock me out.

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