BY JAMES DONNELLY

Bruising, video taping, and loss of teeth. No, Mariemont’s students aren’t getting into fights: they’ve been getting their wisdom teeth extracted.

“I needed to get them out because they would have pushed all my other teeth together if they grew in,” says senior Kate Hassey, who went in for the surgery over Thanksgiving break.

This is a common occurrence among seniors at Mariemont, and they’ve had different experiences across the board.

Hassey says the process was easier than she expected. “I woke up and was kind of groggy, but never experienced any intense pain or anything. The doctor I went to had some new ‘innovative technique’ that’s supposed to make it easier, so maybe that’s why.”

About his experience, senior Cole Decamp says, “It was a lot different than I thought. It was really fun when I woke up. I couldn’t stop laughing when they pushed me around in a wheel chair.”

Senior Nick Fries is scheduled to get his wisdom teeth removed toward the end of the month, and says he’s not nervous about it.

“I’ve heard from different people that it’s either terrible or it’s not that bad at all, so I’m not really worried about it.”

Some seniors discuss the hilarity that ensues after the anesthetic wears off, and many have asked or plan to ask others to film them as they wake up.

“All the footage I’ve seen has been funny, so it seems logical to film,” explains Fries.

However, Fries shows apprehension at the amount of medication needed to get the job done, as do others.

“I was told that, at school, that I have to take something they call a ‘happy pill,’ so I won’t be stressed about anything. They also want to give me laughing gas. I don’t know why they’re overmedicating me like this.”

Many students are nervous about the recovery process and being out of commission for a few days, but Decamp and Hassey assure them it’s not that bad. “I healed a lot faster than I thought I would. I didn’t have to take any pain pills and I could chew the second day. I didn’t really have any swelling. I guess I got lucky,” explains Decamp.

Hassey agrees. “I was in bed for a couple days but got it together pretty quick. I could only have mac and cheese and jello, though, for Thanksgiving (which was two days later) so that was kind of a bummer.”

Many high school seniors, and some younger students, need to go through this process. Whatever they’ve heard, however, it seems the rumors are worse than the truth.