Wisdom Teeth

Comparing Injectable Anesthetics for Dentistry

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A review articled carried out by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews titled “Injectable local anaesthetic agents for dental anaesthesia (Review)” written by St. George et al. in 2018 (no. 7, art. no. CD006487) explored the success of local anesthetics used by dentists. Procedures in dentistry that use local anesthetics include endodontic treatment, placement of restorations, and extraction of teeth. The researchers wanted to determine if one form of anesthetic worked better than others in different scenarios. The researchers defined success for an anesthetic based on the absence of pain during the procedure. They sought out to also explore the speed of onset and duration of anesthesia as well as the systemic and local adverse effects. The researchers had a very thorough search that resulted in 123 studies which was later reduced down to 68 studies and compared 14 different … Read more

Acupuncture for dental anxiety

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An interesting article titled “Acupuncture for anxiety in dental patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis,” by Allan et al. appears in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine (vol. 20, pp. 22-35, 2018). The article sets to look at previous trials done to explore acupuncture and it’s potential effect on dental anxiety. Some dental patients experience anxiety which is estimated to be between 4% and 30% of the population in the world. Reasons for dental anxiety include fear of pain, fear of needles, fear of anesthesia, and the fear of losing control. In the past several articles on this site have explored dental anxiety including: 1.) How To Manage Dental Anxiety in Elderly Patients, 2.) Can Providing Audiovisual Information Help Relieve Anxiety in Patients Having Wisdom Teeth Removed?, 3.) Anxiety in Dental Patients Before and After Tooth Extraction, 4.) Dental Phobia – Therapy Treatments … Read more

Pseudoaneurysm after Wisdom Teeth Removal

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There are many complications that can occur as a result of wisdom teeth removal. Such complications from wisdom teeth removal are discussed on this website at http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. One complication that does not receive much attention, perhaps because it does not occur much, is a pseudoaneurysm or false aneurysm. A pseudoaneurysm usually occurs from an aterial breach or rupture in an artery which leads to a leakage of blood and a resulting hematoma. One case of this occurring in a 25 year old man is on the complications page. The pseuodoaneurysm and adjacent parent artery were occluded through the use of cannulization aided by computed tomographic angiography. Another more recent case of pseuodoaneurysm occuring after wisdom teeth removal is described in an article by Rawat et al., titled “Traumatic Pseudoaneurysm: A Life-Threatening Complication After Surgical Extraction of Impacted Maxillary Third Molar,” appearing in … Read more

Management and Risks of Dry Socket After Wisdom Teeth Removal

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An interesting article titled “Alveolar osteitis: a critical review of the aetiology and management” written by Veale appears in the 2015 edition of Oral Surgery (vol. 8, pp. 68-77). The article attempts to provide guidance on the best treatment and prevention of alveolar osteitis more commonly known as dry socket. Dry socket is a common complication after wisdom teeth removal that typically occurs around 2 to 4 days after surgery. With dry socket there is a total or partial loss of the blood clot from the socket, which results in an inflammatory response and intense pain. Dry socket is believed to occur up to 5% of the time after a wisdom tooth extraction and some studies show it more often occurs after a lower wisdom tooth removal. In the article many risks factors of dry socket are attempted to be … Read more

Quality of Life Impact As a Consideration for Wisdom Teeth Removal

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An interesting editorial titled “Outcomes after 3rd molar surgery: what about quality of life?” written by Ogden appears in the 2014 edition of Oral Surgery (vol. 7, pp. 1-2). The article discusses how there are many complications that can occur after wisdom teeth removal and many of these are mentioned to the patient prior to surgery as part of the informed consent process. Such complications that can occur after wisdom teeth removal are discussed over at http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html and the informed consent process has been discussed before for example in the post Informed Consent in Dentistry: Can Change Impact Personal Injury Cases? and also http://www.teethremoval.com/legal_system_medical_malpractice. However the article by Ogden dives deep and addresses how patient quality of life outcomes should be disclosed as complications in the informed consent process. The author mentions a 1997 study which showed that 1 week … Read more