x-ray

The Before and After of Tooth Surgery: Everything You Need to Know

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Tooth extraction is a common procedure. When your teeth are severely decayed and broken, and the dentist cannot repair them with a filling or other dental procedure like a root canal, tooth extraction is the last option. When you know what to expect before and after tooth extraction, you will be at ease. By following clear instructions, you can prevent infections and avoid dry socket, which is a very painful condition. Let’s see what you should do before and after tooth extraction. Before Tooth Extraction Ask questions It is normal to have questions about the procedure. Don’t hold back. List down all your questions and remember that no question is too silly to ask. Get answers to your questions before proceeding with the tooth extraction procedure. The Dentist will Perform X-Rays Before the extraction, the dentist will perform x-rays of … Read more

Using Panoramic X-Rays of Lower Wisdom Teeth to Legally Prove if Someone is Older than 18 Years and 21 Years

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According to two 2010 studies it is possible to use a panoramic x-ray of lower wisdom teeth to prove if someone is older than 18 years old and also to prove if someone is older than 21 years old. Recently on this site the issue of forensic age estimation using wisdom teeth was explored. In this article it was shown from several studies by Olze et al. that age estimation based on panoramic x-rays of wisdom teeth exploring tooth emergence must take into account populations representative of whom the person belongs in order to be more reliable. It was also discussed how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the U.S. is using dental x-rays to attempt to determine the age of the migrant. More information on this can be found in the article titled “Here’s how ICE sent children seeking asylum … Read more

Forensic Age Estimation using Wisdom Teeth

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Recently there has been a lot of discussion of immigration of migrants into the United States of America. Many times young children who travel to the U.S. are migrants seeking asylum but there age is not known. Different laws apply to those who are adults versus those who are children. In recent cases described in the article titled “Immigration agents X-raying migrants to determine age isn’t just illegal, it’s a misuse of science,” by Elizabeth A. Digangi published June 1, 2018, in MedicalXpress, there have been reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) using dental x-rays to attempt to determine the age of the migrant. The issue at hand is whether or not dental x-rays can provide information regarding the age of a person in regards to looking at wisdom teeth and if it is safe for use. Of course when … Read more

Recent Celebrities to have Wisdom Teeth Removal

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In 2018 and through early 2019, there were at least 5 famous celebrities to have their wisdom teeth removed.  The first celebrity is Dua Lipa, a 23 year old woman, who is a famous musician. She even shared on Instagram in a post dated March 11, 2018, an x-ray showing that she has 33 teeth. In a subsequent post dated March 13, 2018, Dua said she was in awful pain and had to cancel some scheduled tour dates with Bruno Mars. After having the wisdom teeth surgery she shared in a video three tips to survive wisdom teeth removal surgery. She said 1) ice cream helps, 2) you should sleep a lot, and 3) you should drink lots of water.  The second celebrity is Violett Bean, a 22 year old woman, who is a famous actress. She shared a photo … Read more

Dental X-rays Show Vitamin D Deficiency

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McMaster anthropologists have found that human teeth hold important information about Vitamin D deficiency which can be identified by a dental X-ray. The researchers had previously discovered that human teeth hold a detailed and permanent record of Vitamin D deficiency. The teeth show microscopic deformities in dentin. This is preserved by enamel which protect teeth from breaking down. Vitamin D deficiency often occurs when a human does not get enough exposure to sunlight. This work is useful for examining the teeth of people who lived years ago to see if they were ever deprived of sunlight and had Vitamin D deficiency. An issue when looking for teeth deformities currently is that that a tooth must be cut open and there are limited teeth the researchers had access to. To avoid wasting specimens, the researchers tried to find a way to … Read more