Teeth Problems are a Result of our Jaws Changing

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An interesting article titled “Why We Have So Many Problems with Our Teeth” appeared in Scientific America written by By Peter S. Ungar (paleontologist and dental anthropologist) on April 1, 2020 (322, 4, 44-49). The article discusses how human jaws today are very different than that of our ancestors. In fact today our jaws can be consider underdeveloped due to less chewing that occurs and has kept our teeth from fitting properly into our mouths. The author states ” Nine in 10 people have teeth that are at least slightly misaligned, or maloccluded, and three quarters of us have wisdom teeth that do not have enough room to emerge properly. Simply put, our teeth do not fit in our jaws.” The author says that teeth no longer fit into jaws because human diets have changed over the years to use softer more processed foods … Read more

The life events of people can be told by teeth

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An interesting article titled “Parturitions, menopause and other physiological stressors are recorded in dental cementum microstructure” appears in Scientific Reports written by Paola Cerrito and et al. (vol. 10, pp. 5381, 2020). The article discusess how the life events that people have experienced can be told by their teeth. In the article the researchers conducted a study of cementum microstructure of 47 human teeth, from 15 individuals with a known life history. The teeth were processed at the Hard Tissue Research Unit of the NYU College of Dentistry. The life history events of the patiens like age, illnesses, and relocations were known and had been reported from the patients relatives. The researchers used a series of imaging techniques that illuminated cementum rings, and then linked the rings to different life stages. Doing so allowed them to reveal connections between tooth … Read more

Local Anesthesia Leads to Temporal Muscle Ossification

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An interesting article titled “Traumatic myositis ossificans of the temporalmuscle after dental local anesthesia,” written by S.B. Helland and T.Ø. Pedersen appears in Clinical Case Reports (no. 11, pp. e7410, 2023). The article describes a case of a thirty year old woman who developed ossification of the temporal muscle attachment after local trauma during dental treatment which prevent her from opening her mouth. The thirty year old woman presented four months after having had a root canal treatment of a maxillary premolar tooth when local anesthesia was given near the right temporal muscle attachment. At the time she noted a sharp pain right after the injection was given. He also experienced persistent limited mouth opening after the dental treatment. Computer tomography was taken when the woman presented four months later which showed a bony growth roughly 3cm in length extending … Read more

Using Low Dose Naltrexone for Treating Burning Mouth Syndrome

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An interesting article titled “Low Dose Naltrexone for Treatment of Burning Mouth Syndrome” appears in Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology written by L. Sangalli and C. S. Miller (Published April 30, 2022). The article discusses using a low dosage of naltrexone to treat burning mouth syndrome (BMS) that started after a woman had a tooth extraction. In the article discussion is made of a 62 year old woman who had been experiencing BMS the the last three years. She had had a tooth extracted three years earlier and the pain she was experiencing was at the site of the extraction. After some time pain went away but then a year or so after the extraction the woman began experiencing BMS at the dorsum of her tongue. She reported tingling and burning sensations and the pain flucated between … Read more

Coated gauze may help with pain and dry socket after wisdom teeth removal

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An interesting article titled “Retrospective analysis for predictors of postsurgical complications from third molar extraction with use of oxytetracycline–hydrocortisone-coated gauze inserted in extraction socket” appears in Oral Science International, written by Sayumi Matsuda and et. al. and published on June 15, 2023. The article sought to explore a study of a technique of inserting gauze coated with oxytetracycline–hydrocortisone ointment into a wisdom tooth extraction socket and look at the occurence of dry socket and pain when compared to a those without the gauze. The researchers applied the gauze technique to 286 patients who had lower wisdom teeth removed. The authors found the incidence of dry socket after extraction was 1.05% (with a 95% confidence interval of 0.22% to 3.03%) and the incidence of post-extraction infection was 0.35% (with a 95% confidence interval of 0.01% to 1.91%). These percentages were lower … Read more