Wisdom Teeth

Is it time to ditch the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree?

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An interesting article titled “Why 2 dental degrees?: Time for unification of degrees and oral health care providers” written by Donald B. Giddon and William V. Giannobile appears in the March 21, 2023 Journal of the American Dental Association. The article calls into question why dentistry is the only major health care profession that has two equivalent degrees: the Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) degree and the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree. In the article discussion is made of how there is no useful purpose to have two different degrees in dentistry. The authors state that this causes confusion among patients, dentists, and other health care professionals. The authors believe that dentistry should have a single degree, the doctor of dental medicine, which is more accurate to what occurs in dentistry today. The authors say that there are no … Read more

Platelet-rich fribin may help to carry antibiotics for oral surgery

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An interesting article titled “Can platelet-rich fbrin act as a natural carrier for antibiotics delivery? A proof-of-concept study for oral surgical procedures” written by Francesco Bennardo and et. al appears in BMC Oral Health (March 9, 2023, Vol. 23, No. 134). The article seeks to investigate the role of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) as a carrier for antibiotics delivery for oral surgery. In the article the authors discuss how mntimicrobial resistance threatens globalhealth and that judicious prescribing of antibiotics by dental surgeons is needed to help prevent antibiotic resistance. Directly targeting tissues with local drug deliverystrategy has been shown in prior studies as a viable option to reduce unnecessaryantibiotics. In particular autologous platelet concentrates promote tissue healing by releasing autologous growth factors over time and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) belongsto a second-generation of this type that did need manipulation after blood collection. … Read more

Sedative-induced sexual fantasies a risk in dentistry

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An intersting article titled “The Impact of Sedative Hypnotic Drugs on Hallucinated Sexual Assault or Sexual Fantasies Involving Health Professionals: A Systematic Review” appears in the 2023 edition of the Journal of clinical pharmacology written by M. White and M. White. The article seeks to conduct a review on the issue of hallucinated sexual assaults caused by drugs used in denstry like midazolam while dental procedures are peformed on patients. This topic has been covered before on this site see for example the post Hallucinations While Taking Anesthesia: Implications for Sexual Assault. In the article discussion is made of how real sexault assaults have occured in the medical setting. An example is made of a 21 year old college woman who was given 10mg of diazepam intravenously while having a procedure performed and her doctor innappropriate touched her. Examples of … Read more

Pseudoaneurysm after wisdom teeth extraction

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An interesting article titled “Pseudoaneurysm following “routine” third molar extraction: a case report and review of the literature” appears in the March 2022 edition of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Cases written by J. J. Heifetz-Li and S. Abdelsamie (vol. 8, no. 1,100249). The article presents a case of unusual bleeding following wisdom teeth surgery in a healthy 17 year-old. In the article discussion is made of a 17 year old teenage woman who has her complete bony impacted wisdom teeth extracted at an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery outpatient clinic. She had no known signficant past medical history. The removal of her wisdom teeth was considered to be a routine extraction that involved a distal “hockey stick” incision, to raise the full-thickness mucoperiosteal flap to get to the crowns. The teeth were removed without damaging any nerves nearby and no excessive … Read more

Most Cost Effective Way to Treat Persistent Trigeminal Neuropathy

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An interesting article titled “Is Surgical Repair With Nerve Allograft More Cost-Effective Than Non-Surgical Management for Persistent Trigeminal Neuropathy? Initial Assessment With Q1 Markov Model,” written by Benjamin Palla and et. al. appears in the Journal of Oral an Maxillofacial Surgery published online February 17, 2023. The article explores if surgical repair with allogeneic nerve graft a more cost-effectivetreatment option than no surgery. The article explores patients who suffer from trigeminal nerve injuries and how in some patients that show no signs of improvement after 3 months they are considered to have persistent trigeminal neuropathy (PTN). This condition can result as a complication of wisdom teeth removal. This condition can affect aspects of daily life including tooth brushing, flossing, talking, eating, drinking, chewing, smiling, kissing, and sleeping. A total of 36% of patients with trigeminal neuropathy have depression and many … Read more