Wisdom Teeth

Family Reaches $3 million settlement from faulty medical gas during wisdom teeth removal

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I have previously reported on Austin Stone, a teenager who was left with partial blindness and neurological problems after having his wisdom teeth removed. Today a partial settlement has been reached for $3 million with Action Plumbing; however, they denied being liable. Legal action is still pending against other defendants. Austin visited Dr.  Steven Kirk Vincent in Lawrence, Kansas, U.S., in March 2009, to have all four of his wisdom teeth removed.  Dr. Vincent had just had a new dental surgery center opened and Austin was the first patient to visit on a Monday morning. Dr. Vincent began administering to Austin what he believed to be nitrous oxide and oxygen. Austin did not become sedated and so Dr. Vincent administered diazepam, fentanyl, and later propofol. Austin’s heart rate began to decrease and Dr. Vincent administered what he believed to be … Read more

Vitamin D Can Help Prevent Gum Infections

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A study appearing in the June 2011 issue of Infection and Immunity titled “Vitamin D-Mediated Induction of Innate Immunity in Gingival Epithelial Cells.” written by Laura McMahon and et al. (vol. 79, no. 6, pages 2250-2256), suggests that making sure you have enough Vitamin D can help with the immune defense in the oral cavity. The authors found that an innate immune regulator TREM-1 can be induced by treating gingival cells with vitamin D. While still much work needs to be done looking at how exactly vitamin D can fight infections there is potential for targeted therapies in the future. The authors state “As vitamin D and calcium defciences can lead to increased inflammation, it is reasonable to hypothesize that there is an association with periodontal disease….vitamin D-mediated gene regulation of the innate immune response may be associated with the … Read more

Dentalhealth.org

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I wanted to let everyone know about the site dentalheath.org. It is a site by the British Dental Health Foundation. There is a section for the public, a section for the press, and a section for professionals. Most people will find the Dental Health Information Leaflets section in the for the public part of the website to be useful. There are numerous useful dental related categories such as wisdom teeth, what to do following an extraction, x-rays, and so on. Since the site is from the British Dental Health Foundation, it’s intended audience is for people who live in Britain so this is important to keep in mind. Even so the information can be helpful for everyone. The site is arranged so that frequently asked questions for each category are asked and then answered. For example, in the wisdom teeth … Read more

Third Molar Multidisciplinary Press Conference

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Just a quick update to remind you that the Multidisciplinary Conference on Third Molars (Wisdom Teeth) will be occurring today October 19, 2010, at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. at 11 A.M Eastern. To find out more details please refer to my previous blog post https://blog.teethremoval.com/multidisciplinary-conference-on-third-molars-wisdom-teeth/. If you are unable to make the conference and would like to listen in online, a live audio stream will be provided. Simply visit http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=73177 This conference is being put on by American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) and Ira. D Cheifetz, the immediate past president of AAOMS, will be in attendance. Update: I did get a chance to listen in on the conference which lasted just over an hour. The live stream also showed a PowerPoint presentation to accompany the speakers. The speakers who presented are seen in the … Read more

Do Wisdom Teeth Cause Crowding?

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For some reason which is not clear to me, people still often ask the question: do wisdom teeth cause crowding of anterior teeth? The answer to this question is a plain and simple no. Thomas B. Dodson, DMD, MPH says “extracting third molars to prevent or alleviate crowding of the dentition is not usually justified.” Jay Friedman, a retired dentist, says “It is not possible for lower third molars, which develop in the spongy interior cancellous tissue of bone with no firm support, to push 14 other teeth with roots implanted vertically like the pegs of a picket fence so that the incisors in the middle twist and overlap.” Dr. Jeff , a dentist, says “Wisdom teeth will not cause lower anterior crowding, ask any competent orthodontist, or just think about it from a logical standpoint. Realistically can a tooth … Read more