Man in China Dies Two Weeks after Wisdom Teeth Removal

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Wisdom teeth surgery can in rare cases lead to death. This has been covered before on this site in blog posts such as Wisdom Teeth Removal Death in 2016 in Florida: Settlement Reached, Four and half million settlement in wisdom teeth extraction death, Two million settlement in wisdom teeth extraction death, Recent Stories on Wisdom Teeth Removal Death, Asphyxia Due to Compression of the Trachea Leading to Death After Wisdom Tooth Extraction, 12 Million Given After Wisdom Teeth Removal Caused Death, Wisdom Teeth Removal Leaves to Death Two Days After, and Air Embolism During Wisdom Teeth Removal Causes Death. In the middle of 2020 a Chinese man died after having his wisdom teeth extracted. The 26 year old man had his wisdom tooth removed at a hospital in the Hunan Province of China on May 25, 2020. He had continuous … Read more

The Rise of Do It Yourself Dentistry on TikTok

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In recent years the social media platform TikTok has gained lots of popularity with teenagers and young adults. TikTok has become a become a hotspot for do it yourself dentistry. Once such do it your self dentistry trend has been shared on this site before in 2021 titled Is it Safe to Drink Large Amounts of Pineapple Juice after Wisdom Teeth Surgery that People on TikTok are Doing? Other trends that have been shown on TikTok include people shaving down their teeth and using a bottle of liquid hydrogen peroxide to whiten their teeth.  Dentists are worried about many of these practices that are promoted by influencers on TikTok. Some dentists have said that they can be dangerous and both the short and long term risks are worse than the immediate payoff. Furthermore, the long term costs can be much … Read more

Should we Remove Wisdom Teeth Before Bone Disease Therapy?

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An interesting article titled “Pediatric-Antiresorptive Use: Should We Intervene on Third Molars Early?” written by Michael J. Cimba and et al. appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 79, pp. 1817−1818, 2021). The article seeks to address if oral surgeons should consider preventatively extracting wisdom teeth in children before they start bone disease therapy to prevent jawbone destruction. In the article the authors discuss how removing wisdom teeth that have not yet fully developed in children before they begin antiresorptive therapies may prevent them from developing medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). MRONJ, a progressive death of the jawbone, is a side effect of antiresorptive therapy such as bisphosphonates and denosumab, which are drugs used to treat bone (osseous) diseases and cancer-related conditions. It is well known that dental extractions like removing wisdom teeth can increase the risk … Read more

Can Neck Hyperextension During Dental Treatment Lead to Stroke Like Symptoms?

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An interesting article titled “Major Neurological Deficit Following Neck Hyperextension During Dental Treatment: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature,” written by Victor G. El-Hajj and et. al. appears in the 2022 edition of the The Neurologist. The authors discuss two cases where patients had dental treatment performed and then suffered from neurological impairment due to hyperextension of the neck. Both patients had routine dental treatment done and had their necks overstretched which lead to a hopsital stay. The first patient discussed was a 67 year old man who saw his dentist for bridgework. He had been taking a medication for high blood pressure for nine years but had no history of cerebrovascular events. The man’s dental work took around 45 minutes and he was given local anestheisia. His neck had to be extended during the procedure to … Read more

Change in Taste After Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Short-Term Evaluation of Gustatory Changes After Surgical Removal of Mandibular Third Molar—A Prospective Randomized Control Trial,” appears in the 2018 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 76, pp. 258-266). The article sought to explore if changes in taste occur after removing wisdom teeth. In the article the authors discuss how damage to the lingual nerve and the loss of the ability to sense taste are complications that can occur after wisdom teeth surgery. The authors devised a study using 60 patients who had impacted wisdom teeth surgically removed. They selected 15 patients in each category of mesioangular, distoangular, horizontal, and vertical impacted wisdom teeth. The patients were evaluated with regards to taste testing before surgery and again 10 days after surgery. In the study each patient was given a sweet, salty, sour, … Read more