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An interesting article presented in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News discusses dental stem cells and their role of creating new bone tissue in humans. This article is based off of the procedure and results in a recent paper titled “Human Mandible Bone Defect Repair by Grafting of Dental Pulp Stem/Progenitor Cells and Collagen Sponge Biocomplexes” which has been conducted by Gianpoalo Paccio and his partners in Naples, Italy. (Europen Cells and Materials Vol.18, 2009, pages 75-83).

Seventeen patients had their wisdom teeth extracted and the dental pulp stem/progenitor cells known as DPCs were eventually used to fill the injury site left by the wisdom teeth that were removed. Three months later, the patients were examined by X-ray. The sites where the wisdom teeth were extracted and filled with the DPCs (along with a collagen sponge scaffold) showed complete regeneration of the bone.

This shows that dental stem cells have a wide array of potential and possibilities for the future. If you are considering having your wisdom teeth extracted even after knowing the complications, risks, and benefits, you may also want to consider having your stem cells saved. Several companies have emerged  to help you store your stem cells from your wisdom teeth.

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I wanted to alert everyone to a recent article in The Orangeville Banner and The Wellington Advertiser regarding 17 year old female Mercedes Moore and her wisdom teeth removal near death experience.

According to the articles, Mercedes had her wisdom teeth removed in February, 2009. She began to feel a purple lump on her left temple along with pain and swelling. She saw the dentist for a follow up and told her he thought nothing was out of the ordinary. Eventually she had to be airlifted to a hospital because she was suffering from septic shock due to an infection that had developed and spread to her main arteries and organs. She had to undergo a surgery on her brain to remove a piece of skull and clean the infection. This surgery lasted 10 hours.

Due to the blood clotting she suffered from several strokes and remained in the hospital until May, 2009, a period of around 11 weeks.

She then remained in a rehabilitation center until October, 2009. She is now partially paralyzed in her right arm and leg and can only walk short distances. She is also learning to talk again and continuing to undergo physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.

The reason for all of the problems following wisdom teeth removal is attributed to Lemierre’s Syndrome which rarely occurs after a wisdom tooth extraction. This disease is known to affect young and healthy adults. I recommend reading the Wikipedia article on Lemierre’s Syndrome to learn additional information.

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Recently launched is a new website http://www.ihateheadaches.org/. This website is run by Dr. Ira Shapira a dentist in Gurnee, Illinois.  People should take CAUTION when viewing this site.

First, the site serves as a promotion tool for Dr. Ira Shapira and other neuromuscular dentists in the U.S. Of course, since Dr. Ira Shapira is located in Illinois his practice is the only one listed when you select you live in IL. Currently the site only has one or two dentists at the most for different states. Some states such as Florida currently have no “doctor’s” listed.

Secondly, the site is attempting to aid in the dentists ‘cashing’ in on the headache epidemic. In a press release by Dr. Ira Shapira he addresses a article in Medical Hypothesis (2009) “Migraine, neuropathic pain and nociceptive pain: Towards a unifying concept.“ This article can be found for your convenience at http://www.teethremoval.com/Migraine_neuropathic_pain_and_nociceptive_pain_Towards_a_unifying_concept.pdf

In the summary of the article it states “… we suggest that fundamentally all the three pain syndromes referred to in the article share a common pathophysiological mechanism, namely peripheral pain perception, peripheral sensitization at dorsal root ganglion or its intracranial counterpart (like trigeminal ganglion) and central sensitization at the spinal cord (dorsal horn for somatic pain), brain stem nuclei and thalamus before final pain perception at the sensory cortical matrix.”

Dr. Ira Shapira states in his press release “the problems of TMJ disorders (TMD) are often related to central sensitization of the trigeminal nerve secondary to nociception (painful impulses received by the brain) from peripheral problems.” Dr Shapira also argues that in addition to TMJ problems, sleep apnea can also lead to such things as morning headaches.  Thus because of these two reasons it can be inferred you should see a neuromuscular dentist.

For some people it may help put an end to their headache problems by seeing a neuromuscular dentist. However, in most cases seeing a neurologist or primary care physician may be the first step towards treating headache problems. iHATEheadaches.org goes into many of the diagnosis and treatment options for headache including MRI, ECG, pain medications, natural headache treatments. Call me crazy but I have just never heard of a neuromuscular dentist ordering a MRI for a patient for a headache diagnosis. In fact when I complained of a 24/7 headache after having my wisdom teeth removed my oral surgeon told me to see my primary care physician and that my headache could not possibly be related to removing my wisdom teeth (total BS).

I think Dr. Shapira and other neuromuscular dentists should be promoting their practices as being able to treat headaches, but not mislead patients. Instead he should be focusing on integrating his treatment with other providers such as neurologists, radiologists, neurosurgeons, and oral surgeons. Instead, the site does not mention anything about how to get treatment from the other specialties and makes it so the patient thinks Dr. Shapira and other neuromuscular dentists will be able to fully treat them for their headaches.

As a patient you deserve to have doctors working towards doing all they can to help improve your quality of life.

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If you are looking for dental information online there are several great sources of information to read. First, thanks for stopping by here at http://www.teethremoval.com.

If you are looking for great information from a dentist online,  I would highly recommend Dr. David Leader. He frequently writes articles (usually at least once a month).  You can view his articles over at http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/1435/dr_david_leader.html. Some of the more recent article titles include “What Causes Cavities,” “Oral Surgery – Before and After,” and “Reasons to Call your Dentist.”

Another source of dental information is the ADA (American Dental Association) News Today. They have many updated articles on dentists and various dental programs throughout the country. You can visit ADA News Today at http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/index.asp.

There are many other websites and blogs that provide useful and informative dental information. Many have been covered before on this blog and site. If you have more you would like to share please post below in the comments!

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New research has come to light to show the “placebo effect” involves evolutionarily old pain control pathways in the human brainstem.

Placebo analgesia refers to a person’s relief from pain following being given a chemically inert substance. It is thought to be due to a person’s belief that a potent pain medication was administered. Endogenous opioids are naturally produced by the brain in small amounts and play a key role in the relief of pain and anxiety. Brain imaging studies have shown placebo analgesia stimulates release of endogenous opioids from higher brain regions.

“It has been hypothesized that placebo analgesia also recruits the opioidergic descending pain control system, which inhibits pain processing in the spinal cord and, therefore, subsequently reduces pain-related responses in the brain, leading to a decreased pain experience,” says Falk Eippert.

Eippert and his colleagues used advanced brain imaging techniques to examine higher cortical and lower brainstem responses in two groups of subjects. The first one received a drug called naloxone which blocks opioid signaling. The second had a natural opioid state. Expectations of pain relief were induced in both groups using an established placebo analgesia paradigm.

I was  found that naloxone reduced behavioral placebo effects as well as placebo-induced decreases in pain-related brain responses. In addition and most important to the results is that under placebo, cortical areas interacted with brainstem structures implicated in pain control and that these interactions were dependent on endogenous opioids. Further they were related to the strength of experienced placebo effects.

“Taken together, our findings show that opioid signaling in pain-modulating areas and the projections to downstream effectors of the descending pain control system are crucially important for placebo analgesia,” states Falk Eppert.

Adapted from materials provided by Cell Press.

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