Story by Daniel Ziebol
A Cultural Comparison Between U.S. and Japanese Wisdom Tooth Removal Rituals
(Often times looking at one’s cultural norms through outsiders’ eyes brings new perspective to home-country culture. The Minnesota State University Moorhead MC 309/Reporting team divided into three groups to seek answers about wisdom teeth. One group, the one that reports today, examined other cultures’ practices when it comes to wisdom teeth in hopes it would lead to fresh perspective on the U.S. tendency to lean toward a “take ’em out” attitude regarding wisdom teeth at an early age.)
With their plane tickets already purchased for a flight back to Japan, transfer students Makoto Kumagai and Shoko Akiyama are no different than native U.S. students in that both are already thinking about their return back home for the summer. Soon after they check out of the U.S., Kumagai and Akiyama will check in at the dentist to each have a wisdom tooth removed. This is yet another thing in common with some native students, but that is where the similarities end.
Wisdom tooth removal is a common practice in both Japan and the U.S, and in both nations people have the teeth removed at about the same age. So what makes Japanese students such as Kumagai and Akiyama different from U.S. students? The answer can be found in one word.
“Oyashirazu” is the Japanese equivalent for the word “wisdom tooth,” yet it has no association with the word “wisdom.” The word itself is actually a combination of two different words. The first part of the word, ”oya,” means parents. The second part, “shirazu,” means not knowing. Together, it roughly translates to “teeth that parents don’t know about.”
The origin of oyashirazu’s meaning is based on how the teeth begin to grow or appear after people have moved off to college or to start working, and no longer live with their parents. Upon further inspection, the origin and meaning behind oyashirazu can open the door to the bigger picture of what differentiates Japanese and American wisdom teeth removal.
If you looked at the origin of “oyashirazu” carefully, it provides a few key words that give example to one of the main differences between the U.S and Japan’s culture of wisdom teeth removal. “Begin to grow,” as in unless there are extreme circumstances where wisdom teeth need to be removed immediately, students in Japan generally wait for them to grow out first. So then what might Japan’s opinion be in regards to how many American’s opt for surgery before their wisdom teeth even appear?
When asked on her thoughts about this, Akiyama answered almost before I could finish the question. “I don’t understand at all. Why would you guys do that?” Akiyama questioned in bewilderment. She felt it didn’t make any sense unless your teeth were causing incredible pain. Both Akiyama and Kumagai cringed at the thought of utensils slicing away at their gums. Both did, however, admit they would allow the dentist to cut away at their mouths. That is, only if they were experiencing unbearable pain.
This brings us back to Akiyama’s question. Why don’t students in the U.S. let their wisdom teeth grow in before having them removed? In most cases, students would have to redirect that question towards their parents. Here, parents are the ones that decide the fate of their son or daughters teeth. Does this mean that Japanese parents aren’t involved with their son or daughter’s choppers?
Oyashirazu doesn’t mean Japanese parents literally don’t know about their son or daughter’s wisdom teeth. Akiyama’s parents can serve as proof to this since they also have had their wisdom teeth removed. Just because they’ve had theirs’ removed, doesn’t mean they will enforce that on their daughter. It is actually quite the opposite. When asked whether their parent’s had influence on their decision to remove their teeth, both Akiyama and Kumagai felt they didn’t really care one way or the other.
One question that might come to mind of at this point for U.S. parents is dental insurance. If a student in Japan decides to live away from home, and if their parent’s employee health insurance can’t cover them, they will still be covered by Japan’s National Health Insurance, where they can find information here. This insurance covers 70 percent of medical related payments and patient having to co-pay the remaining 30 percent.
Insurance or no insurance, wisdom tooth removal can still be expensive in the U.S. If it’s common practice in Japan, surely it must also be expensive, right? It would be if they also choose to have surgical operations where IV sedation alone cost up to $500. Since it’s rare to have wisdom teeth removed while not grown in, most students don’t have to pay for high-costing anesthetics. The result is the average Japanese student will pay around 50 dollars a tooth. If the teeth are easy to pull out, the fee is between eight and fifteen dollars instead.
Every two years Japan’s government regulates and sets the prices of medical procedures such as wisdom tooth removal. While not necessarily true, some believe that dentists in the U.S. tell people to get their wisdom teeth removed for the sake of money. Japan’s dentists are unable to do this even if they wanted. This is due to the fact that if the government notices that procedure is ordered frequently they can simply lower the price.
Depending on where you live, you may see advantages or disadvantages of another countries culture surrounding wisdom teeth removal or dental hygiene for that matter. This is the case for both Akiyama and Kumagai, who admit they’ve picked up a thing or two from their time abroad in a land of people obsessed with dental hygiene. They both put more thought and effort than in the past, toward healthy teeth.
