Do you think you have what it takes to pull your own teeth? People did it for ages before modern dentistry came around. In fact, you can even imagine it without much effort. The act is sometimes depicted on TV and movies, and if you have ever watched the film Castaway, you remember what Chuck Nolan (Tom Hanks) had to do to survive while stranded on a remote island.
In the film, Nolan had to teach himself survival skills such as how to start a fire from scratch and how to make a new ‘friend’ on a deserted island using a volleyball.
Those that watched the movie probably remember that Nolan’s makeshift friend consisted of a volleyball that he painted a face on and named Wilson. His discussions with Wilson kept him from going loony-tunes from a lack of socialization, and his ability to make fires kept him from starving and getting some parasites from raw shellfish.
Equally important from a survivalist’s perspective, Nolan had to come up with a solution to extract a molar when he got an excruciatingly painful abscess. How did he do it? Well, after struggling with the pain until he couldn’t take it anymore, he knocked his tooth out with an ice skate while everybody in the audience cringed in horror.
If you were a survivalist watching this movie probably, you probably cheered at Chuck’s ingenuity that kept him alive until he was rescued. At the same time, you probably wondered if you have the fortitude to do the deed if faced with that daunting task. Well, the good news for you if you find yourself in a similar situation, is that they’ve been extracting teeth since man’s beginning – the bad news is that it can be a very dangerous procedure if it’s not performed right.
Read on to find more about how to pull your own teeth in case of disaster on a massive scale.