Wisdom Teeth

Can you Use Low Level Laser Therapy After Wisdom Teeth Removal to Reduce Pain?

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An interesting article titled “Is Low-Level Laser Therapy Effective in the Management of Pain and Swelling After Mandibular Third Molar Surgery?” appears in the July, 2016, issue of Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and written by Majid Eshghpour, Farzaneh Ahrari, and Mohammad Takallu. The article seeks to explore if using low-level laser therapy after removing impacted wisdom teeth can reduce pain and swelling. In the study 40 patients included had lower impacted wisdom teeth on both sides. One side was subjected to lower level laser therapy and the other side just placebo. After removing wisdom teeth patients often experience pain, swelling, and tristmus for several days. Pain usually reaches a peak 3 to 5 hours after surgery while swelling peaks around 12 to 48 hours later. The trauma that occurs during surgery leads to inflammation which causes these other symptoms. Surgeons typically prescribe … Read more

Can you fight cavities by taking a pill?

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Researches from the University of Florida have have identified a new strain of bacteria in the mouth that may keep bad bacteria in check. They believe this could lead to the development of a supplement (a probiotic) that patients could take orally to prevent cavities. While developing an effective oral probiotic will require more research, a possible candidate organism has been identified: a previously unidentified strain of Streptococcus. To maintain a healthy mouth the oral environment must have a relatively neutral pH. When the environment in the mouth becomes more acidic, dental cavities can develop. At this point bacteria on the teeth make acid and acid dissolves the teeth. Researchers were aware that bacteria were responsible for breaking down these compounds but wanted to investigate which bacteria do this best which they found to be called A12. The researchers wondered if a probiotic formulation could … Read more

Computer Assisted Retrieval of Accidentally Displaced Wisdom Teeth

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An article titled “Use of Computer-Assisted Navigation in the Retrieval of Accidentally Displaced Third Molars,” appears in the 2016 Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery, written by Yi Guo and et al., vol. 74, pp. 889-894. The article describes using a computer to retrieve accidentally displaced mandibular third molars. A total of 12 patients in the study successfully had their roots retrieved. They all healed successfully without complications. In rare cases when performing wisdom teeth surgery, a tooth or a tooth root can be displaced. When they are displaced into difficult to access areas surgery retrieving the displaced molars should be performed by conventional methods which include extending the original operative exposure or planning a new operative approach and then finding and removing the tooth. This surgery can cause severe tissue injury or complications. The paper discusses computer-assisted navigation in … Read more

Comparing Complications from Anesthesia with Wisdom Teeth Extractions

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An article titled “Anesthesia Complications of Diazepam Use for Adolescents Receiving Extraction of Third Molars,” appears in the 2016 Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery by Gino Inverso and et. al, vol. 74, pp. 1140-1144. The article seeks to evaluate the safety of midazolam and diazepam for adolescents during wisdom teeth extraction and whether any differences in complications exist when using the 2 benzodiazepines alone or in combination. Compared with diazepam, midazolam has a faster onset of action, greater incidence of amnesia, and shorter recovery time. The authors hypothesized that diazepam, when used as an intravenous sedative agent for third molar extraction, would be associated with a higher rate of anesthetic complication than midazolam. The study included patients enrolled in the OMSOS from January 2001 through December 2010. To be included, patients had to be adolescents (<21 yr old) who … Read more

Quality Measures Need Measures of Quality

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An article titled “Quality Measures Need Measures of Quality” appears in the 2016 Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, issue 74, pp. 1101-1102, and written by Thomas Dodson. The article discusses how nowadays doctors have a lot more access to information thanks to the information technology revolution. He discusses HIPAA and electronic medical records (EMRs). The author states “EMRs were introduced—we were promised—to make patient information portable and to improve communication between providers, thus improving patient safety and quality of care. In truth, these were secondary intentions, the first and overriding being Medicare’s (now CMS’) need to provide comparable data across institutions in order to control costs and monitor utilization.” In the article he talks about compliance with data capture and automation and how with quality measures oral surgeons are not much farther now than in 1984. Measures of quality, … Read more