Using the sedative Remimazolam for oral surgery

An interesting article titled “Can Remimazolam Be a New Sedative Option for Outpatients Undergoing Ambulatory Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery?” appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery written by Zijian Guo and et. al. (Available online 16 September 2022). The article discusses the sedative remimazolam and its possibility to sedate in oral surgery as effectively as midazolam. In the article the authors discuss how patients can receive dental treatment with more comfort using sedation. Midazolam is widely used in oral and maxillofacial surgery but has side effects of increased accumulation and respiratory depression. Remimazolam has similar pharmacological effects to midazolam but has rapid onset, fast metabolism, less potential adverse effects. Remimazolam has a a mean half-life of between 0.5 and two minutes and a terminal half-life in plasma of 37 to 53 minutes.  The authors conducted the first ever … Read more

Political Campaign Preferences for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons in the United States

An interesting article titled “Political Campaign Contributions of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Between 2013-2022 – A Decade of Data,” written by Jack A. Harris and et. al. (The Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Volume 80, Issue 9, Supplement, September 2022, Pages S43-S44). The article opens by discussing how oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the U.S. tend to donate to Republican-affiliated candidates and campaigns. This is no surpise to those who understand the inner workings of what certain political parties in the U.S. tend to support and is not ideal, see for example the articles Big Media Monopoly and How to Protect Yourself from Abusive Doctors. In the article, the authors set to determine the magnitude and geographic differences in political contributions made by oral and maxillofacial surgeons between 2013 and 2022 with regards to determining the the total number and … Read more

World record set by nine year old’s wisdom tooth extraction

Recently, a nine year old in Virginia has become the youngest person according to Guinness World Records to have a wisdom tooth extracted. The nine year old boy was 9 years and 327 days old when he had the wisdom tooth extracted. The boy learned that he needed the extraction when his orthondontist in Virginia noticed on a 3D x-ray that he had a wisdom tooth and a molar growing on top of each other. This was in the upper left area of his mouth. The boy said he could not feel the tooth growing but his orthodontist wanted it removed so that the molar could drop in his mouth properly. The boy was referred to an oral surgeon in Virginia. The oral surgeon confirmed wha the orthondotist had said, the wisdom tooth needed to be removed in order to … Read more

Tooth Wear and Affect on Quality of Life

An interesting article titled “Tooth Wear and Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life in Dentate Adults” appears in the Journal of Dentistry written by Mireille Kanaan and et. al. (2022). The article sought to determine the extent to which tooth wear when adjusted for oral health risk indicators, adversely impacts the Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) for adults. In the study the authors investigated 570 adult patients with complete or near-complete dentition. All patients in the study had at least one bilateral molar occlusal contact and were 18 years or older with a median age of 52. The study participants answered a self-applied questionnaire that consisted of four domains: (1) characteristics of the participants, (2) oral care attendance, (3) oral health conditions and lifestyle, and (4) complaints of OHRQoL. The athors found that 62.8% of the patients in the study had complete … Read more

Dentist suspended after patient died after teeth extraction

A dentist in the state of Washington has had their dentistry license suspended over allegations of unsafe practices after a patient died while having multiple teeth removed in 2022. The patient had a significant medical history and was having teeth extracted in June 2022 in advance of a scheduled heart valve surgery. The patient was under moderate sedation for abot five minutes before a drop in oxygen-saturation level, heart rate and blood pressure. The patient had hypertensive cardiovascular disease, valvular heart disease, congestive heart failure, pulmonary emphysema, chronic disease, diabetes, and obesity. In advance of the extractions the dentist had received medical clearance from the patient’s primary care provider but the dentist had not talked to any other doctors treating the patient. During the day of the extractions, the patient was given articaine, lidocaine, triazolam, midazolam, decadron, and cefazolin. Roughly … Read more