Wisdom Teeth

Let’s Give our Kids a Chance to Succeed

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Let’s open with a quote from http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/07/physicians-courage-implement-comparative-effectiveness.html “American physicians are not stupid. They know where the money is. Established referral patterns, collegial medical relationships, flashy glitz for the patient to experience and describe versus ordinary pills, no pesky lawyers, country club shoulder rubbing, the payroll, and marketing of the local hospital. All these factors, and more.” What I can’t seem to figure out is why there such a lack of promoting values and skills for our youth today that will allow them to succeed in the future so they can see through false statements and care promoted without or on shaky scientific ground. Is money really the end all be all? Of course not. In today’s digital era some argue that reputation is the new cash. Hence following values, morals, and ethics will go a long ways towards gaining reputation … Read more

Dental Care in Japan

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I found an interesting piece by Kevin Rafferty in The Japan Times Online from June 15, 2011, titled “A dentist need not be a masked demon.” The article is located here http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20110615a1.html The article gives an inside look into recent developments in dentistry with a particular focus on Japan but the principals and message apply globally. The main focus on the article centers around a report soon to be published in both English and Japanese titled “Guideline for treating caries following a minimal intervention policy, an evidence and consensus based study.” The report was conducted by Mikako Hayashi of Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry and her committee in which 18 months was spent conducting research. Some notabled quotes from the article by Kevin Rafferty include “Recent advances in dentistry include recognition that teeth, if properly treated, regularly cleaned and … Read more

Omega 3 Fatty Acids Inversely Proportional to Periodontitis

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Periodontitis (periodontal disease)  is a inflammatory disease which is caused by bacteria accumulating at the gum line. This can cause bone loss. Periodontal disease possibly occurring later in life in the wisdom tooth region is commonly a reason given by dentists and oral surgeons to remove healthy wisdom teeth. However, based on current literature understanding and assestment, wisdom teeth should not be removed if they are healthy due to a risk of periodontal disease. If periodontal disease were to later occur, then a conservative approach should be followed. This is discussed in more details on the wisdom teeth controversy page. A study that was published in 2010, looked at data from 9,182 adults ages 20 and older and met certain criteria from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) study between the years 1999 and 2004. Periodontal examinations were … Read more

Ellen Degeneres and Wisdom Teeth Videos

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Ellen Degeneres has a show and she has a tendency to have a lot of young people on who have posted videos on Youtube. She has done this for some upcoming Youtube musicians and also for some young adults who have had their wisdom teeth St George Utah removed as a preventative elective surgery. In September, 2010,  she had a young guy and girl on the show who are brothers and sisters and posted a Youtube video after having their wisdom teeth removed. The video from their appearance on the Ellen Degeneres show is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT7WLBAeaUw The original video is located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig-pZ4OyidY In April 2010, Ellen had a young girl on the show who posted a video on Youtube after she had her wisdom teeth extracted. The video from her appearance on the Ellen Degeneres show is located … Read more

16 Year Old Female Dies After Wisdom Teeth Removal

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I was very saddened to recently hear about the death on May 5, 2011, of a young 16 year old girl who was a sophomore in high school in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was in the ROTC program and had aspirations to join the Army. Miciah Bonzani went into cardiac arrest while under anesthesia to have her wisdom teeth removed. She was taken to a hospital, placed on life support, and then died 2 days later. She was born with a heart defect which had required two surgeries before her first birthday. What is also troubling to me about this unfortunate death is that one of the media organizations that covered the story WPXI/Pittsburgh.com, did not even mention that it occurred while having wisdom teeth extracted.  They simply called it “dental work” and an “outpatient medical procedure”, although … Read more