Month: April 2014

Is Creative Diagnosis on the Rise in Dentistry?

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A very interesting MyView column by the American Dental Association (ADA) is titled “Creative Diagnosis” by Jeffrey Camm, D.M.D. located over at http://www.ada.org/9151.aspx and published October 21, 2013. In the column the author touches on an issue he faces as a dentist where he has patients who have seen other dentists who were likely unethical in their treatment (and treating when it is not warranted) – a term he calls creative diagnosis. Of course one can ask, what is the motivation for creative diagnosis and one would answer money and staying afloat. Essentially the author describes several cases he has dealt with at his practice: A 16 year old patient who graduates from his pediatric practice and sees a new dentist who then says she has 16 cavities. The patient and her mother of course are upset and he reviews … Read more

How to Manage Pain Patients in Dental Practice

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An interesting article appears in J Can Dent Assoc 2012;78:c83 titled “Neuropathic Orofacial Pain Patients in Need of Dental Care,” written by Gary D. Klasser and Henry A. Gremillion. It was posted online on August 17, 2012, over at http://www.jcda.ca/article/c83. The abstract of the article states “Dental pain is a common complaint among the general population. Most pain is a result of traumatic injury or bacterial infection in pulpal and periapical tissues, and dental practitioners are successful at diagnosing these conditions and providing prompt relief. However, in some cases, patients continue to complain of persistent pain, which may be categorized as neuropathic. These people may avoid or neglect routine dental treatment or interventions to prevent precipitation, perpetuation or exacerbation of their pain condition, and practitioners may have to modify their procedures when managing the dental needs of this unique population.” … Read more

High-Level Evidence to Identify Diseases and Disorders Associated with Periodontal Disease

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An interesting article appears in J Can Dent Assoc, 2012, 78:c25, titled ” Separating Fact from Fiction: Use of High-Level Evidence from Research Syntheses to Identify Diseases and Disorders Associated with Periodontal Disease,” by Amir Azarpazhooh and Howard C. Tenenbaum. The article describes how it is known that periodontitis has been correlated with several diseases and attempts to look at the more robust associations. In the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page http://www.teethremoval.com/risks_of_keeping_wisdom_teeth.html this has been mentioned and several studies are cited. This page states “These potential systemic diseases that may be associated with periodontal disease include premature delivery of low-birth weight infants, coronary artery disease, coronary heart disease, renal vascular disease, stroke, diabetes, bacterial pneumonia, chronic obstructive lung disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.” The article discussed above uses meta-analyses and systematic reviews available up to June 2011. This article states “This high-level evidence … Read more

The Curious Case of a Wisdom Tooth Growing in Old Age

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An interesting article titled “Dentist shocked by Mary’s new wisdom,” appears in an article in This is Kent, http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Dentist-shocked-Mary-s-new-wisdom/story-17958765-detail/story.html, January 25, 2013. The article describes a 75 year old woman who had a wisdom tooth grow in at the age of 75. A picture of the woman with her dentist is provided in the article. The dentist was taken a back by such a finding since it is vary rare. He decided to look up other cases on the internet and did find a case where an 84 year old man in New Zealand where a man had a wisdom tooth come in. In the case of the 75 year old man the dentist and woman have decided to just manage the wisdom tooth and leave it in in order to avoid possible complications.

Teenagers Turn to Strangers for Legal Advice Online After Wisdom Teeth Extractions

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Previously, I have posted numerous user written experiences of wisdom teeth removal. For example, you can see One Star Yelp Reviews on Wisdom Teeth, Successful and Positive Wisdom Teeth Removal Experiences, Wisdom Teeth Surgery Survey, and Wisdom Teeth Extraction Survey. Many of these experiences of wisdom teeth extractions were sent to me in a survey I have been conducting for quite some time on wisdom teeth removal. Other experiences were found from other sources such as reviews on Yelp. It has long been known by those who search for wisdom teeth (but not much discussed) that teenage patients who have wisdom teeth extracted often go online afterwards if things don’t go as planned. It appears that some patients are hurt and injured from the extraction and turn for advice on the internet. One such website where I have seen this … Read more