Month: April 2013

Dental Bibs May Harbor Oral and Skin Bacteria Even After Disinfection

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Researchers at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and the Forsyth Institute published a study on April 2, 2013, which showed that a significant proportion of dental bib clips harbored bacteria from the patient, dental clinician, and the environment after the clips had undergone standard disinfection procedures. A dental bib clip of course is that metallic chain that wraps around your neck and holds the dental bib that the dentist gives you when you see them. The researchers found that the majority of thousands of bacteria found on bib clips were removed after the standard disinfection procedure. Even so, the researchers found that 40% of the bib clips after disinfection retained one or more aerobic bacteria which is able to grow and live in oxygenated environments. Furthermore, the researchers found that 70% of bib clips tested after disinfection retained one … Read more

Dental Anesthesia May Stop the Development of Wisdom Teeth

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An interesting study appears in the April 2013, JADA which looks at whether dentists giving inferior alveolar nerve blocks to young children may be stopping wisdom teeth from later developing. The article is titled “Inferior alveolar nerve block and third-molar agenesis: A retrospective clinical study,” and by Jerry Swee and et al., JADA, April 2013, vol. 144, issue 4, pp. 389-395. In the study the researchers looked at children who had received inferior alveolar nerve block (a local anesthesia) between the years of 2 and 6 at the Tufts dental clinic and also had a dental x-ray taken 3 years or after of being initially treated. The researchers arrived at 439 potential wisdom tooth sites from 220 patient records for their analysis. The control group consisted of 376 potential wisdom tooth sites where it was clear that the child never … Read more

Out of Court Settlement in Wisdom Teeth Removal Death Case

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Previously I have discussed the case where a 17 year old female died unexpectedly after having wisdom teeth removed. She was a junior in high school and died on April 6, 2011, 10 days after the surgery due to suffering a severe brain injury. The autopsy report showed that she died due to lack of oxygen to her brain during the extractions. This is discussed in the blog post 17 Year Old Female Dies After  Wisdom Teeth Removal. Recently, it appears that this case was settled out of court on March 28, 2013. The parents of the female sued both the oral surgeon and anesthesiologist in the case claiming they had shown negligence in failing to revive her after her heart rate slowed to a dangerous level and thereby causing a lack of oxygen to her brain. Unfortunately the conditions … Read more

24 Year Old Man Dies After Wisdom Teeth Removal

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Recently, another unfortunate case has occurred where a 24 year old man has died after having his wisdom teeth removed in California. See this page for some additional information on death from wisdom teeth removal. Also see other blog posts such as this one 14 Year old Boy Dies Within 24 Hours of Having Wisdom Teeth Removed. In this recent case the 24 year old man saw an oral surgeon in California to have wisdom teeth extracted on March 21, 2013. He was given 6 different sedatives including propofol. During the surgery he began to cough and went into cardiac arrest. He was then taken to a hospital and was found to have two pieces of gauze in his airway. He then died three days later. It is not clear if the gauze contributed to his death. An autopsy report … Read more