Wisdom Teeth

Biomedical engineers used advanced cone beam imaging technology take a series of two dimensional x-rays, which enabled them to create a detailed three dimensional picture of the patient’s mouth. Better images allow dentists to increase their understanding of the patient’s mouth and predict the outcome of procedures with improved accuracy. In eight-and-a-half seconds, a machine can take 435 X-rays of Samantha Kotey’s jaw and teeth, creating full 3-D imaging with more detail and accuracy and less radiation than a traditional dental X-ray. Physicist, Jeff Sitterle, Ph.D., says it’s just one way researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta are changing the science of dentistry. “We’re focusing on very new technologies and these technologies are actually things that have been utilized in other types of manufacturing and other industries, but they fit very nicely into dentistry,” Dr. Sitterle, chief … Read more

I just wanted to share some thoughts on the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. They state on their website that their mission statement is ” to provide a means of self-government relating to professional standards, ethical behavior and responsibilities of its fellows and members; to contribute to the public welfare; to advance the specialty; and to support its fellows and members through education, advocacy and research.” I feel that by promoting the idea of removing healthy impacted wisdom teeth they are not living up to their mission statement. This is because of the harm it causes thousands of Americans each year when they suffer permanent nerve damage from an elective procedure, or the possibility of even death or more serious complications like a chronic 24/7 headache. Thus I feel that The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons … Read more

A recent article suggests that ongoing study “links even pain-free wisdom teeth to early gum disease that worsens over time, sometimes causing havoc far beyond the mouth. Indeed, pregnant women with gum disease around their wisdom teeth appear to be much more likely to give birth prematurely than unaffected pregnant women. The latest data suggest that as many as 80 percent of people will develop problems with their wisdom teeth.” I don’t know who came up with this but I don’t think it’s accurate. Most experts no longer believe that crowding is a concern, but the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons typically wrongfully recommends pre-emptive pulling in young adulthood, before symptoms arise, when roots haven’t yet fully formed and surgical risks are lowest. “If you have to have them out when you’re 45, you will not enjoy that,” … Read more

I wanted to take a second to discuss my dislike towards a website, blog, and forum that is awfully similar in structure to this website however is sending the exact opposite message. I am not going to link to them because I don’t want to help out their sites rating but the link is hxxp://www.goodbyewisdomteeth.com/ just remove the xx and replace with tt. Anyway the message of the site is the following “Wonderful! As this site is completely dedicated to helping others, the most important thing you can do is post to the forums of the site–especially before AND after your dental surgery. Help other people understand your situation. In marketing, they say 80% of all first-person stories are because of negative experiences. I really want to capture the truth, not just the bad experiences–so when your procedure is over, … Read more

Between October 6,1986 and September 17,1987, 11 patients underwent insertion of mandibular dental prostheses by the same oral surgeon. Three patients suffered cardiac arrest during surgery and subsequently died. Two of the patients who died had received general anaesthetics and the other had intravenous sedation given by three different anaesthetists. All three patients arrested suddenly, developing profound cyanosis and electrical mechanical dissociation, underwent prolonged resuscitative efforts, and had marked hypoxaemia and hypercapnia, despite cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Two other patients had signs of injection of air but survived, one suffering cardiac collapse and the other sustaining massive subcutaneous emphysema. Air embolism was produced by inadvertent injection of a mixture of air and water, passing through the hollow dental drill, directly into the mandible to the facial and pterygoidplexus veins and thence to the superior vena cava and right atrium.  To find out … Read more