Wisdom teeth

[Armin]

Hi all,

I have always wondered about the wisdom of the wisdom teeth. Does anyone know their significance from the angle of the lineage we are all learning?

A client came in today reporting that during the lockdown she started experiencing tooth pain and after a long wait managed to see a dentist who told her that she has impacted wisdom teeth, though only one was giving her grief. She has never been bothered by them before. They have recommended surgery in the near future.

I told her I didn’t think it was necessary and that we should be able to settle it down again so it becomes asymptomatic and as long as she’s watches things dietarily and all around, it should be fine. She had been drinking a lot more than usual to deal with anxiety and stress. I said at the very least, I can help her buy time and get the surgery at a better time in the future, while in my head thinking she may not even need it.

I guess in the old days people lived with them unless things got really bad. But what about the ones that were impacted!!!!?

Thanks!

[Elizabeth Evans]

Ah… you’ve got me thinking. Kind of a dangerous situation with me as I’m still feeling very disconnected in my learning. Too much TCM in my head! Anyway, I’ll throw this out there and see what others think. So… Not sure if this relates but I was listening to Jeffrey’s lecture on the 13 Ghost Points and he was mentioning stomach 6 and what I think he said “gnashing of the teeth” which relates to Jing as teeth relate to Jing. He went on to say that the ability to gnash the teeth… memory failing here… stimulates Jing… maybe??? Teeth are an extension of Jing. But I do remember that gnashing was important. I remember that clearly because I find the word “gnashing” disturbing as it always reminds me of the zombie in World War Z. I told you it was dangerous to get me thinking! There was a connection with brain stimulation with this as well (which makes the zombie reference even more interesting! Who knew that movie was so deep! LOL.). Interestingly, people have been reporting excessive dreaming during lockdown. From a Western point of view, I know that wisdom teeth pain can come from teeth grinding or jaw clenching. So my mind is thinking– gnashing of the teeth, brain stimulation. Or in the case of tooth pain, inability to gnash the teeth. My knowledge fails me when it comes to the significance of Jing in this particular scenario. Although I could make up an awesome zombie connection.

My other thought or question actually is whether this could be looked at from a sinews perspective? If tooth pain is caused from jaw clenching… could you look at doing a sinews treatment to relax the jaw? (or am I messing stuff up by thinking too Western here?) But, if you DID look at it from sinews… would clenching the teeth be classified as pain upon weight bearing or flexing???

Anyway, these are just rambling thoughts which – as usual- may not be at all useful but may stimulate others to provide useful thoughts.

I hope you are well, Armin. Hopefully someone else will chime in with better, more insight.

Best wishes,

Liz

[Armin]

Thanks Liz! I’m glad I got you thinking;) Yes, the Jing connection makes sense, or rather teeth being a type of bone in a way and therefore related to the kidneys and by extension Jing. I guess I’m wondering if wisdom teeth in particular are meant to be left alone for the most part, unless they are causing all sorts of problems in which case they get yanked out. I know in Canada, there is a tendency to pre-emptively get them out with the understanding that they might cause problems down the road.

As far as your question goes, you could definitely address tooth pain or jaw issues with a sinew approach. I have done that on a number of occasions and with good results. If the pain is with the movement of chewing, then hmm, I think it is considered shao yang as it’s the hinge (or is that tcm thinking!?). The yang ming makes sense too, though strictly there is no weight bearing and if you are thinking flexion (which there is), then there is also extension (opening the jaw before closing). Either way, given that the area is covered by a bunch of channels (St, Li, SI, SJ), you’ll likely be covering yang ming and shao yang as far as trajectories go. And of course, you’d be paying attention to the pulse for the third angle of a sinew diagnosis.

Hope I haven’t confused you 🙂

[Author]

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