Wisdom Teeth

Differing Views in Medicine and Dentistry Applied to Wisdom Teeth

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An interesting article appears in the 2014 version of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery titled “Asymptomatic Third Molars Under Nominalist and Essentialist Lenses,” written by V. Wallace McCarlie and Daniel L. Orr II, pp. 658-659.  The authors define two differente views: 1) essentialism and 2) nominalism and then try to apply them to the management of wisdom teeth. The authors state “Essentialism is the notion that underlying every properly defined disease is an unchanging reality causing illness. Conversely, nominalism is not concerned with underlying causes, but rather with signs and symptoms of illness.” In the article the authors mention a study which says that dentists detect rather than diagnose. The authors later say that detection implies nominalism and diagnosis implies essentialism. The authors give some downsides to both points of view. For example, they say essentialism is less … Read more

Should the NICE Guidelines for Management of Wisdom Teeth (Third Molars) be Reevaulated?

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An article titled “Changes in Demographics of Patients Undergoing Third Molar Surgery in a Hospital Setting Between 1994 and 2012 and the Influence of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidelines,” written by Vahe Petrosyan and Phillip Ameerally appears in the February 2014 issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, pp. 254-258. The article discusses how National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) were published around 2000 recommending against prophylactic removal of wisdom teeth. This led to a reduction in surgeries performed. In the article the authors question whether or not the NICE guidelines on wisdom teeth should be updated. They mentioned a 2009 study which said 27% of previously symptom free wisdom teeth can become symptomatic after 1 year, especially those that are distoangularly impacted. In the … Read more

Periodontal Disease and Cardiovascular Risk

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In a post many years ago I discussed Patients With Moderate To Severe Periodontitis Need to Be Evaluated For Cardiovascular Problems. In a new study, periodontal disease has again been looked at as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In the study conducted, more than 15,000 patients with chronic coronary heart disease gave information on their dental health with results showing periodontal disease indicators were common. The study included self reported dental health information from the STABILITY trial, a clinical trial with 15,828 participants from 39 countries all with chronic coronary heart disease and a risk of cardiovascular disease.  All study participants had a physical exam and blood work up, and completed a lifestyle questionnaire. They reported their remaining number of teeth and frequency of gum bleeding. The results indicated a high prevalence of tooth loss with 16% reporting having no … Read more

Using Teeth to Determine Where you are From

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An interesting article titled “The Pb isotopic record of historical to modern human lead exposure,” appears in the journal Science of The Total Environment written by George D. Kamenov and Brian L. Gulson (vol. 490, pp. 861-870, 2014). George Kamenov is a University of Florida geology professor. The article describes how trace amounts of lead present in teeth can give clues about what geographical region the teeth (and the person) came from. What is interesting about this article, is that the lead in the teeth can be used to pinpoint the geographic area where the teeth originated from. This is because lead is composed of four different isotopes which fluctuate in different rocks and soils around the world. As children grow they inhale dust and ingest soil which contains the different isotopes of lead. As tooth enamel forms during childhood, it … Read more

Wisdom Teeth Removal: Tweets from Twitter

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As the name of this website is teethremoval.com, often discussion of removing teeth, specifically wisdom teeth, are mentioned. One way to find out what people are saying first hand from their wisdom teeth removal experience is from Twitter. Many tweet out some 140 character message with the hashtag #wisdomteeth. Below I have included many tweets with the hashtag #wisdomteeth over the past year in 2014. 1) alexis @kickrockspunk all these ppl at the movie theater eating popcorn and i’m just like slurpee w/ no straw #wisdomteeth 2) paige @paaigehattonn I feel the need to explain to everyone why my cheeks are huge when I’m out #wisdomteeth 3) David Solberg ‏@da_solberg16 Will sell soul to eat solid food #WisdomTeeth 4) weston huser ‏@westonhuser I get to be a chipmunk tomorrow #WisdomTeeth 5) Jenna Haverkamp ‏@JennaHaverkamp Dear Lord, Please don’t let me … Read more