Wisdom teeth and periodontal disease association in US adults

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An interesting article titled “Wisdom teeth, periodontal disease, and C-reactive protein in US adults” appears in Public Health written by Y. Zhang and et al. (vol. 187, pp. 97-102, 2020). The study sought to evaluate the associations among the presence of wisdom teeth, periodontal disease, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in the US adult population. Periodontal disease is a chronic gum disease which has been linked to many systemic diseases. An elevated level of CRP indicates systemic inflammation as it is a sensitive non-specific biomarker and has been linked to risk for cardiovascular disease. The end goal of the study was to generate population-based evidence to inform heart disease prevention and dental care. In the study the authors performed a secondary data analysis using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010 data from the national cross-sectional survey conducted … Read more

Using Bupivacaine with Wisdom Teeth Removal Results in Less Opioids Prescribed

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An interesting article titled “A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study of the Effect of Liposomal Bupivacaine on Postoperative Opioid Prescribing After Third Molar Extraction,” written by Stuart E. Lieblich and et al. appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 79, pp. 1401-1408, 2021). The study seeks to explore if patients who have lower wisdom teeth removed using liposomal bupivacaine need less opioids than those wo do not have liposomal bupivacaine. In the study the authors performed a retrospective study of patients who had undergone wisdom teeth extraction at 2 outpatient oral surgery centers in the United States. Patients had to have been at least 18 years of age and undergoing an elective wisdom tooth removal with 1 partial bony or full bony lower impacted wisdom tooth. A total of 600 patients who underwent wisdom teeth extracted were included in … Read more

Dentists and staff should wear protective eyewear and disinfect between patients

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An interesting article titled “Blood and saliva contamination on protective eyewear during dental treatment,” written by Nora Bergmann and et al. appears in the 2022 edition of Clinical Oral Investigations (Feb. 14, 2022). The article sought to explore the amount of aerosols, blood and saliva splashes on protective eyewear worn during dental treatments. The authors also looked at the effectiveness of disinfection of the eyewear. In the study the authors used forensic techniques to analyze 53 protective eyewear shields worn by dental staff during aerosol-producing dental treatments. The protective eyewear were worn during dental treatments like supragingival cleaning, carious cavity preparation, and subgingival periodontal instrumentation. To detect blood contamination, luminol was applied on the surface of the eyewear shilds. The authors found that a macroscopically detectable amount of contamination was found on 60.4% of the protective eyewear shields that had … Read more

Taking etoricoxib before Wisdom Teeth Surgery to Help Relieve Pain

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An interesting article titled “Does low dose of etoricoxib play pre-emptive analgesic efect in third molar surgery? A randomized clinical trial” written by Long Xie and et al. appears in BMC Oral Health (vol. 21, no. 462, 2021). The article discusses the results of a randomized clinical trial that explored if a preemptive low dose of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) etoricoxib may reduce the need for analgesics after wisdom teeth extraction. The study the authors conducted was designed as randomized, parallel, double-blinded and placebo-controlled and occurred between August 2019 and July 2020. A total of 56 patients were included in the study that met the inclusion criteria and scheduled to have impacted horizontal mandibular wisdom teeth extracted. The authors found that the mean VAS pain score in the etoricoxib group was significantly lower than that in the placebo group … Read more

Grant Awarded to Help Improve How Primary Care Doctors Apply Fluoride Varnish on Kids Teeth

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A grant in the amount of $424,000 was awarded for researchers at Kennesaw State University in Georgia to study how flouride varnish is applied to kids teeth. The grant was awarded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in particular to explore how pediatricians apply fluoride varnish to kids teeth. The grant is for a three year period of time. It is the first NIH grant awarded soley to Kennesaw State. Fluoride varnishis applied to help reduce decay for both primary teeth and permanent teeth and thus can help improve oral health. In the U.S. insurance pays for pediatricians to apply fluoride varnish to young children. Even so it has been reported that only 4% of pediatricians report regularly applying fluoride varnish to the primary teeth of infants and children. Due to affordability issues many children particulary under three years … Read more