Sweet Teeth

Ring by Charlotte Burkhart

After five years of warding off dentists with various excuses, I finally got my remaining two wisdom teeth pulled. They were my upper set and the left one didn't fully emerge until I was 24 years old and starting my first journalism job. That year was full of personal and professional transitions for me and every time I got anxious I would run my tongue over my budding tooth and think "Relax... you're still teething!"

As it turns out, what I should have been thinking instead was "Oh shoot, I hope my gums don't get inflamed!" But every time I was told I needed to get my extraneous third molars extracted, I felt verklempt about losing my lucky tooth. I finally bit the bullet (haha) last month, however, and scheduled an appointment. Now I have two molars soaking in a dish filled with rubbing alcohol and water on my desk. What, oh what, should I do with them?

For inspiration, I turned to Etsy. Charlotte Burkhart's sleek, modern settings highlight the different textures of the wisdom teeth she uses (either yours or from donations). I think her Mountains of Wisdom ring (above) showcases the tooth best, but I also like her Split Wisdom Tooth Bracelet:


I think the roots are the most interesting part of teeth. Mine certainly didn't come out looking anything like I expected. Burkhart also has an amazing pendant featuring a photo of Max Schreck in "Nosferatu."

The vampire trend has carried over to Etsy and there is tons of stuff in the shape of fangs. My favorite is this movable pendant by JL67. I wonder if you can wear it as facial jewelry by clamping it onto the end of your nose.


Victoria Camp's white clay fang necklace is also cool. It's simple and elegant, so you can wear it without your outfit screaming "Happy Halloween!" from a mile away (not that there is anything wrong with that... Halloween is my favorite holiday!).


Tibault & Toad's tiny tooth pendant is adorable. I almost expect it to put on a little top hat, grab a little cane and start tap dancing.


One of my favorite thing about this ring by Ardent1 is that it looks like tiny little silver pomegranate seeds, even though it is actually cast from animal teeth. Then again, I haven't eaten solid food in 50 hours and everything is beginning to look edible to me now, including my computer... mmm... computer...


These soft, fluffy pillows by Hootenanny are actually pouches for kids to put teeth in for the Tooth Fairy. And they look like cupcakes covered in white icing... okay, seriously, I have to go shovel more yogurt down my throat. When I was little, the Tooth Fairy used to leave silver dollars for my brother and me every time we lost a tooth. That was exciting, though I managed to figure out that the Tooth Fairy was my Mom when I was about six. But I still made her give me money... teeheehee. I love the smirk on the right pouch's face. It looks like it's thinking saucy, illicit tooth thoughts ("Gimme some of that sugar, baby!").