Wisdom Teeth

Cinematic rendering to visualize teeth segmentation

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An interesting article titled “Cinematic rendering to improve visualization of supplementary and ectopic teeth using CT datasets” written by Ines Willershausen and et. al. appears in Dentomaxillofacial Radiology in 2023 (no. 51, 20230058). The article discusses cinematic rendering (CR) which is a visualization technique that uses physically based volume rendering to create photorealistic images from Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) data. Specifically the article attempts to tailor pre-existing CR reconstruction parameters for use in dental imaging to create 3D visualization of ectopic, impacted, and supplementary teeth. This image is from Ines Willershausen and et. al., “Cinematic rendering to improve visualization of supplementary and ectopic teeth using CT datasets,” Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, 2023, no. 51, 20230058 and has a Creative Commons license. 7-year-old girl with a horizontally impacted canine (a) A panoramic radiograph. (b) Semi-transparent reconstruction parameters are utilized to … Read more

Bilateral Inverted and Impacted Wisdom Teeth

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An interesting article titled “Bilateral Inverted and Impacted Mandibular Third Molars: A Rare Case Report” written by Yara Mohamed Talib and et. al appears in Cureus on March 23, 2023 (vol. 15, no. 3, e36573. ). The article discussed two cases of inverted and impacted lower wisdom teeth that is very rare and very few cases have been reported in literature. In the article discussion is made of an impacted wisdom tooth that occurs when the tooth is unable to erupt normally because of a lack of room or a blockage from eruption. When a tooth is in a buccolingual position it is also noted as an inverted impaction. In the article two cases of bilateral impacted lower wisdom tooth were reported along with the radiographs. In the first case a 50 year old woman from Jordan presentned with persistent bleeding … Read more

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