Wisdom Teeth

The Parents Guide to Wisdom Teeth

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I recently came across a press release promoting a book entitled “The Parent’s Guide to Wisdom Teeth.” If you are a parent and thinking about the surgery for a child, I would NOT recommend purchasing this book. The main conclusion offered by this book is found on the book’s website… “It is far better to assume a lower degree of surgical risk, paying the cost “up front” (which is likely to be less in terms of money and time) at an earlier age than to gamble on a more risky, difficult and uncomfortable experience later in life when problems arise” I would say that it is better to wait until problem’s arise before removing wisdom teeth due to the risks and potential lasting complications of wisdom teeth removal surgery. If a complication arises wouldn’t it be better to only deal … Read more

Latest Dental News

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There are some articles I found recently that I feel may be worth a read. 1) Unfortunate Error in Oral Surgeon’s Background This article from the L.A. times discusses how Dr. Suzanne McCormick, president of the Dental Board of California,  wrongly removed 2 permanent molars instead of wisdom teeth from a patient several years ago, and settled out of court. 2) Some Facts your Dentist Does Not Want you to Know This interesting article provides insights in how you should be managing your dental care. Two fascinating tidbits from this article are “It is estimated that 15 to 18 percent of dentists are addicted to drugs or alcohol.” “Dr. Jay Friedman, the nation’s leading authority on dental quality control, once told me the source of the conventional wisdom that you should brush your teeth twice a day…He told me it … Read more

Wisdom Teeth Adventures

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Wisdom teeth adventures is a new group on the popular photo sharing site Flickr. You can find interesting photos and discussion from people and their wisdom teeth experiences. The link is http://www.flickr.com/groups/1010852@N25/. One of the photos is the one you can see here in this post. Others appear on my website under “My Pictures.” It really is amazing the kind of pictures and photos people are able to capture from their wisdom teeth removal experiences. Flickr image by Lone Primate. With Permission to use. Image under license.

Wisdom Teeth Removal Leads to Coma

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I was saddened to hear recently that a high school junior in Tonganoxie, Kansas, who recently went in to have his wisdom teeth removed, was seriously injured and left in a coma.  The oral surgeon who performed the surgery had just opened a new dental center. The cause for the injury is due to a faulty medical gas system which delivered oxygen and nitrous oxide. My prayers and thoughts go out to the family of Austin Stone, his friends, and the community. Already, the community has organized ‘Team Tongie’ to help raise money for incidental expenses of those who suffer from medical emergencies and crisis. To learn more visit the following links. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/apr/22/medical-gas-accident-may-lead-policy-change/ http://www.drbicuspid.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=pmt&pag=dis&ItemID=301758&wf=34 http://www.kctv5.com/news/19223205/detail.html

New Evidence Based Dentistry Site

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The American Dental Association has recently launched a new website dedicated to providing evidence based dentistry. You can visit the site at http://ebd.ada.org/ Upon reviewing the website, there are systematic reviews, clincal recomendations, and resources. Resources link to other useful websites that may aid in finding evidence based health information. What is missing in this list is a link to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. However, there are numerous links to other sites in the U.K. In addition what is missing are any clinical recommendations on wisdom teeth removal. As of now there are only 3 clinical recommendations. The list and information is short and hopefully this can grow in the future. Even so, it is nice to see that the ADA recognizes the need for evidence based dentistry and is attempting to provide and link to … Read more