Surgery of the Eyelids at the Maloney Center

What are wisdom teeth, and will I have to get mine removed?

Wisdom teeth are a third set of molars that usually develop when you’re about 18—at which time, you will suddenly become all-knowing. Just kidding. These teeth serve no purpose, except to possibly cause serious pain and irritation. Wisdom teeth can come in sideways, angled or downward, pushing other teeth out of alignment. “It’s difficult to brush these teeth because they’re so far back in the mouth,” says dentist Dr. Ramin Tabib of New York. “Because they are so hard to clean, tartar and plaque build-up, combined with food getting stuck underneath the gum can cause cavities, infection and inflammation.” Dr. Tabib says every jaw is different, so when your wisdom teeth appear (and most people get ’em), your dentist can determine if your jaw is wide enough to accommodate the extra teeth. But you’ll definitely want them removed if you experience infection, pain or impaction, in which they are blocked completely or partially from breaking through the gum. And if you’ve had braces, wisdom teeth can make straight teeth crooked. Best to get ’em out.

No matter how much I sleep, I have dark circles under my eyes. Why, and what can I do?

Dark circles can be a result of heredity, allergies (stop rubbing your eyes!) or poor nutritional habits. So says Dr. Brian Maloney, a plastic surgeon in Atlanta, Ga. Dark circles can also be caused by not drinking enough water, or from eating too many meat and dairy products. Don’t lose any sleep over it, though—just a dab of concealer will hide those circles. Choose a color that’s a shade lighter than your skin tone, and avoid white. For those with darker skin, choose yellow-based concealers, which counteract the blue in dark circles. Some research also suggests vitamin K helps fade dark circles. Try St. Ives Vitamin K Dark Circle Diminisher.

I’ve heard it’s bad to eat raw cookie dough, so why is it OK to have it in ice cream?

If you eat cookie dough made from scratch, it probably contains raw eggs, which puts you at risk for salmonella poisoning. Dr. Leonard Fromer of Santa Monica, Calif., says chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is completely safe—and yummy—because it’s made with bacteria-free eggs or no eggs at all. Be cautious of eating raw store-bought cookie dough, though. Read the ingredients before you dig in to see if it contains eggs or not. If it does, you’ll definitely want to bake first, bite later. If you’re craving raw cookie dough, mix up the dough yourself and omit the eggs.

Why do some people have “innie” belly buttons and others have “outties”?

With Britney baring her belly every chance she gets, tummies are getting more attention than ever. Whether you sport an “innie” or “outtie” is determined at infancy. “Before birth, the umbilical cord is attached to the baby,” says plastic surgeon Dr. Bruce Nadler of New York. “After the baby is born, the cord shrivels up and you get an innie. If the cord has an extra blood supply, it stays alive and heals itself over the stomach to create an outtie.” Though innies are more common, there are no medical benefits or probs with either. But, believe it or not, there’s a cosmetic procedure to make your outtie an innie—that is, if you’re aching for that Britney belly button. Now, about those abs.

Perturbed about puberty?