Horizontally Impacted Wisdom Teeth on Both Sides

An interesting article titled “Impacted Third Molars, A Rare Occurrence of Identical Bilateral Impacted Mandibular Third Molars in Linguo-Buccal Location: A Case Report” written by Shaul Hameed Kolarkodi and et al. appears in Cureus (vol. 13, no. 12, e20858). The article describes the case of a 20 year old man who had bilateral horizontally impacted lower wisdom teeth which found on a panoramic radiograph and also later confirmed with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging. In the article the authors described how impacted wisdom teeth are when they cannot erupt into the proper position. They mention how doctors encounter many types of impaction of wisdom teeth teeth and mention how having horizontally impacted lower wisdom teeth on both sides is rare. Impacted wisdom teeth can happen due to a lack of space or a pathological change that can disrupt the … Read more

Using imaging to assess the impaction of lower wisdom teeth as one ages

An interesting article titled “Impaction of lower third molars and their association with age: radiological perspectives,” written by Ryalat et al. appears in BMC Oral Health in 2018 (vol. 18, no. 1, Published April 4, 2018). The article explores the impaction pattern in radiographic images of wisdom teeth. The authors were motivated by the belief that if the impaction patterns of wisdom teeth can be identified this can help guide clinical decision making regarding to extract or to retain lower impacted wisdom teeth. Specifically, for the study two individuals looked at 1,198 orthopantomographs or panoramic radiographs with 1,810 impacted lower wisdom teeth or third molars. Originally a total of 4,600 orthopantomographs were retrieved from those taken at The University of Jordan Hospital between the years 2010 and 2014, but 3,402 were excluded due to patient age being outside of the … Read more

What to do with an Inverted (Upside Down) Impacted Wisdom Tooth?

An interesting article titled “An unusual case of an inverted and impacted maxillary third molar,” written by Rammal and Alfonso appears in Oral Surgery in 2014 (vol. 7, pp. 109–111). The article discusses a case of an inverted and impacted upper wisdom tooth. In the article the authors discuss how there are seven possible positions that a tooth can be classified into and one of these is the inverted position where the the root apex faces the alveolar crest and the crown faces the maxillary sinus. In such a presentation the tooth appears as if it is growing into the maxillary sinus and the tooth clearly has no use for chewing in the mouth. The authors state: While inverted impacted third molars [wisdom teeth] remain dormant without significant manifestation, removal presents difficulty because of the need to remove large amounts … Read more

Third Molar Morbidity Among Troops Deployed

A few articles have been recently released in late 2010 discussing third molars (wisdom teeth) among those serving in the military. Guidelines from NICE and SIGN as stated over at http://www.teethremoval.com/wisdomteeth.html due state that those who have a certain occupation such as in the armed forces should certainly strongly consider having wisdom teeth removed before they cause problems due to not being able to easily have access to dental treatment. A paper was put out in December 2010 titled “The Impact of Retained Third Molars on the Deployed Airman.” It is over at this link here. The article is written by Robert E. Langsten and William J. Dunn and states that as many as 22% of all emergency department visits at a deployed Expeditionary Medical Support facility can be attributed to dental problems. The article mentions how there is no … Read more

Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removal

Jim Du Molin over at The Wealthy Dentist is one of the leading Internet marketing experts for dentists in North America. He often does surveys and the latest one he has done and shared involves impacted wisdom teeth and their removal. http://www.thewealthydentist.com/SurveyResults/195-Impacted-Wisdom-Teeth.htm His recent survey of 230 dentists showed the majority (53%) of the dentists surveyed felt that wisdom teeth should usually be removed, but not always. A full 7% said that impacted wisdom always ought to be extracted. On the other side 20% of the dentists surveyed said many impacted wisdom teeth do not need to be removed.  Jim also published many comments from the dentists regarding the survey which are available on his website to view if you are interested. As is clear from teethremoval.com, I go into detail demonstrating how there is no current scientific evidence to … Read more