Legal Standpoint of Oral Surgery Complications

As I have written on my website, I disagree with wisdom teeth removal from a legal standpoint (in addition to scientific). Essentially what I argue is that if you have your wisdom teeth extracted and suffer a complication that is not one of the better known you may not recover any money and be left with the pain, suffering, and loss of earnings for the rest of your life. A recent oral surgeon lawsuit after wisdom teeth removal helps reaffirm my previous remarks.  The article states that Cynthia Thompson sued Dr Princell because he did not disclose all the risks of surgery and she suffered a neurological syndrome (specifically a damaged inferior alveolar nerve) as a result of the wisdom teeth removal. “During the trial, 3 oral surgeons told the court that they knew little about the causes of the … Read more

Dental Needle Could be Replaced

I find this study to be quite interesting as I have had anesthesia delivered directly in my nose before in an attempt to prevent my constant 24/7 headache. New evidence has emerged that a common local anesthetic, when administered to the nose as nose drops or a nasal spray, travels through the main nerve in the face and collects in high concentrations in the jaw, teeth, and structures of the mouth. William H. Frey II and colleagues found that drugs administered to the nose travel along nerves and go directly to the brain, although I really don’t think this finding is novel. One of those nerves is the trigeminal nerve, which brings feelings to the face, nose and mouth. Until now scientists never paid much attention to intranasal drugs passing the nerve in the nose and how it might reach … Read more

Metlife Dental and Dentist Cleaning

So recently I have stated in a previous post on this blog, I have finished up graduate school and now moved to a new area with a new job. My employer offers dental insurance. The dental plan turned out to be Metlife. On their website they allow you to select your type of plan either PPO or HMO (I have PPO) and you also enter in your zip code. Now I found a dentist listed as one of their preferred providers and one of my friends in the area recently went to him so I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately I didn’t find out the specifics of how much the new dentist would charge for a cleaning and exam which turned out to be $286.00. Metlife sent me a statement in the mail saying they would cover $97 … Read more

Brush Teeth Twice a Day to Help Prevent Heart Disease

A new study lead by Professor Richard Watt from University College London has analyzed the Scottish Healthy Survey results of 11,000 adults. The study set out to  investigate whether the number of times individuals brush their teeth has any consequences on the risk of developing heart disease. In the survey individuals were asked how often they visited the dentist (at least once every six months, every one to two years, or rarely/never) and how often they brushed their teeth (twice a day, once a day or less than once a day). On a separate the respondents had  nurses collected information on medical history and family history of heart disease, blood pressure. In addition blood samples from those who consented were collected. The samples enabled the researchers to determine levels of inflammation that were present in the body. The results demonstrate … Read more

Wisdom Teeth Survey

I wanted to remind everyone that the Wisdom Teeth Removal Survey is still ongoing. If you are new to this site or a long time visitor and have not yet taken the survey I encourage you to do so. [polldaddy survey=”6E8CF57E23BD9041″ type=”button” title=”Wisdom Teeth Survey” style=”inline” text_color=”000000″] Below is a response from someone who completed the survey. Remember the survey is anonymous and is not linked to you in any way. I am 23 and currently suffering from the decision for prophylactic removal of my 3rd molars, a.k.a. wisdom teeth. Prior to the operation, I was perfectly healthy. During surgery, the doctor almost ripped a nerve running through my jaw, as my wisdom teeth were particularly complicated to remove, and one of them had the roots wrapped around a nerve. I instructed him to stop pulling after I felt immense … Read more