Wisdom Teeth

Should Melatonin be Used for Wisdom Teeth Surgery?

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An interesting article titled “Should Melatonin Be Used as an Alternative Sedative and Anxiolytic Agent in Mandibular Third Molar Surgery?” written by Torun et al. appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The article seeks to compare the effects of melatonin and midazolam in patients having wisdom teeth removed. Melatonin has been discussed on this site before as a supplement that can be taken to help with sleep at night and for migraine prevention, see the post Melatonin may be more effective than Amitriptyline for Migraine Prevention. In the article by Torun the authors describe how sedatives are often given for wisdom teeth surgery but they can depress both the respiratory and cardiac systems and thus this requires increased cost for patient monitoring. When describing melatonin the authors mention how melatonin has sedative, analgesic, … Read more

Does Bromelain Impact Pain, Swelling, and Mouth Opening after Wisdom Teeth Surgery?

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An interesting article titled “Oral Bromelain for the Control of Facial Swelling, Trismus, and Pain After Mandibular Third Molar Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery written by Liu et al. The article seeks to explore if bromelain reduces pain and swelling and improves mouth opening after wisdom teeth removal. Bromelain is believed to decrease swelling by returning interstitial fluid and inflammatory component cells into the bloodstream and provide an anti-inflammatory effect by decreasing pain mediators such as prostaglandin E2 and substance P. Bromelain provides for systemic proteolytic enzyme therapy and is a mixture of proteolytic enzymes found in pineapple plants. The authors state a few articles in the past have explored using bromelain after wisdom teeth removal but with inconsistent results. For example one study showed bromelain … Read more

Tramadol for Pain Control after Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Effect of Submucosal Injection of Tramadol on Postoperative Pain After Third Molar Surgery,” written by Iqbal et al. appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The article discusses the effectiveness of using tramadol for pain control after removing impacted lower wisdom teeth. In the article the authors conduct a study using 60 patients who presented for lower wisdom tooth removal in Mangalore, India. Patients were randomized into either group A or group B, 30 patients in each, in the double blinded study (both the patient and surgeon were unaware of the groupings). Those in group A received 1 mg/kg of tramadol diluted with 1 mL of saline solution and those in group B received 1 mL of saline solution both immediately after suturing. The injection was slowly administered into the … Read more

Wisdom Teeth Extractions in Australians: Findings from a 2013 Telephone Survey

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An interesting article titled “Third molor extractions among Australian adults: findings from the 2013 National Dental Telephone Interview Survey,” written by Hanna et al. appears in the International Dental Journal (vol. 68, pp. 77-83, 2018). The article sought to answer several questions regarding wisdom teeth removal in Australians: whether: 1.) having dental insurance is associated with a higher number of wisdom teeth extractions; 2.) if receiving single versus multiple wisdom tooth extractions is associated with self-rated oral health in the short term; and 3.) if receiving wisdom teeth extractions for those aged 18 to 25 years is associated with fewer number of days absent from work/school because of dental problems than those older than 25 years. The reason the authors explored item (2) identified above was because they believed those who received multiple extractions in a short time window might … Read more

Do Wisdom Teeth Contribute to Systemic Inflammation?

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An interesting article appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery titled “Do Third Molars Contribute to Systemic Inflammation? Results From a Population-Based Study From Northeast Germany,” written by Kindler et al. The article investigates whether having wisdom teeth present plays a role on serum levels of inflammatory parameters and inflammatory messenger peptide hormones. In the article the authors used a study population of 2,333 patients from the northeastern region of Germany (Study of Health in Pomerania- SHIP 2) and also a different cohort of 4,420 patients from the same the region of Germany (SHIP-Trend). The authors pooled the data into 6,753 patients and found 2,484 of these patients had data on wisdom teeth. From the 2,484 patients only 2,151 patients had data on at least one inflammatory marker. The authors found that impacted wisdom … Read more