Nowadays the social media landscape is rapidly shifting more to a short-form video form, dominated not by Facebook parent Meta Platforms, but by TikTok. In January 2022, a woman who is a registered dental hygienist used her wisdom tooth removal as an opportunity to make a parody video of a birth announcement on her TikTok account.
In the video, the woman examines a toothbrush which she uses as her “pregnancy test”. While looking at the toothbrush the woman acts suprised but happy by what she sees. Next, the woman shows a shot of an x-ray on her wisdom tooth which is accompanied by the sounds of an ultrasound, which of course is a common diagnostic test before one gives birth. In the third shot, the woman shows the toothbrush with the word “impacted” taped to it, a print-out of the dental x-ray of her wisdom tooth, and a card she made that says “Wisdom Tooth Removal – Scheduled Jan 2022.” In the fourth shot, the woman shows her touching her face accompanied by the words “Wisdom tooth pains”. In the final shot, the woman shows her extracted wisdom tooth inside a photo she made that says “Welcome to the world #32.” The photo is surrounded by a tube of Crest 3D White toothpaste and Oral-B Glide dental floss. In total the video is 15 seconds long and was shared on her TikTok account @kali_like_the_state.
@kali_like_the_state Welcome to the World, #32 ♬ original sound – Eliana
Apparently this woman does not yet have any children of our own and this was the only wisdom tooth she has had that has developed. Her inspiration for the video was from other baby reveal videos she has seen. A birth announcement is a common way to make others aware that there is a new member of a family. Nowdays many birth announcements are sent out on social media instead of through e-mail or letter mail. Gender reveals are also another popular way to share with others that there is a new member of a family.
TikTok is increasingly becoming a way to share information about wisdom teeth. For example famous celebrities like Cara Delevingne have used TikTok to post short videos of their wisdom teeth removal experience, see for example the post Brad Pitt, Cara Delevingne, and Russell Wilson Latest Celebrities to have Wisdom Teeth Removed in 2021. Others have been using TikTok to share information regarding do-it-yourself dentistry such as advocating drinking a large amount of pinneaple juice before having wisdom teeth surgery, see for example the post Is it Safe to Drink Large Amounts of Pineapple Juice after Wisdom Teeth Surgery that People on TikTok are Doing? Regular non-famous people have also used TikTok to share their experience with wisdom teeth removal and in one case express their disdain for their surgeon’s musical tastes, see for example the post Woman Shocked after Learning Surgeon who Removed Wisdom Teeth does not like Taylor Swift. TikTok seems to be a social media platform many are graviting towards, especially for short-form videos.
Source:
- Catherine Ferris, “Woman Shares Wisdom Tooth Removal in Hilarious Birth Announcement Parody,” Newsweek, February 3, 2022.