COVID-19 Leading to More Orofacial Pain

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An interesting article titled “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Orofacial Pain Practice: Perceptions from a Convenience Sample of Orofacial Pain Practitioners,” appears in the 2022 edition of The Journal of the American Dental Association written by Fernanda Yanez Regonesi and et al. The article sought to explore the impact of COVID-19 in patients impacted by orofacial pain. In the article the authors analyzed voluntary anonymous online survey data from those who participated in a webinar from the American Academy of Orofacial Pain (AAOP) on orofacial pain, headaches, and sleep care during COVID-19. The authors used statistic tools to analyze the responses from the AAOP members to questions relating to orofacial pain practices and perceptions about patient symptoms. A total of 111 practitioners completed the survey from the 617 it was sent to. A total of 47 of these … Read more

Patient Stress Impact on Tooth Extraction Complications

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An interesting article titled “The potential role of patient stress in rates of dental post-extraction complication” written by McDowall appears in the 2014 edition of Oral Surgery (vol. 7, pp. 162-167). The article explores whether stress, alcohol and tobacco use impacts the complication rate experienced after a tooth extraction. The authors recruited patients for the study who were at least 16 years old and having at least one tooth extracted. The patients were asked to fill out questionnaires incorporating the Global Measure of Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST) and questions related to tobacco use. The PSS consists of fourteen questions designed to determine how stressful the persons life is and higher scores indicated greater perceived stress. The FAST consists of four questions designed to determine the frequency too much alcohol consumption and higher scores indicate … Read more

Illinois Man Dies From Too Much Anesthesia While Having Teeth Extracted

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A 51 year old man from Illinois died after having five teeth extacted in July 2021. He had has teeth extracted by an oral surgeon in Lake County which is North of Chicago. During the procedure he was given as given a single dose of 200 milligrams propofol. There was no anesthesiologist present and the oral surgeon was the one also administrating the anesthesia. During the tooth extractions, the man stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest. Emergency responders were called and when they arrived took the man to a hospital where he died the next day. According to statements from the Lake County Coroner there was too high of a dose of propofol given and this dose would cause a person to not breathe. Further, the oral surgeon did not supply supplemental oxygen until the tooth extractions were already … Read more

Does a Parasite in the Mouth Contribute to Periodontitis?

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An interesting article titled “Entamoeba gingivalis Causes Oral Inflammation and Tissue Destruction,” appears in the Journal of Dental Research written by X. Bao and et al. (vol. 99, no. 5, pp. 561–567, 2020). The article seeks to explore the protozoan Entamoeba gingivalis (E. gingivalis) in inflamed periodontal pockets. In the article, the authors sought to validate the frequency of the Entamoeba gingivalis by analyzing the gums of 158 people with periodontitis and healthy controls using polymerase chain reaction and microscopy tests. A total of 107 of the people in the study were healthy controls while 51 had periodontitis. For those healthy control patients, E. gingivalis was detected in oral cavities in 15% of these patients. For those with periodontitis, E. gingivalis was detected in 77% of inflamed periodontal sites and 22% of healthy sites. The authors state “In conjunction with abundant … Read more

Do Wisdom Teeth Surgery Informational Videos Decrease Anxiety?

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An interesting article titled “Does Viewing a Third Molar Informed Consent Video Decrease Patients’ Anxiety?” appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 2018 written by Laskin et al. (vol. 76, pp. 2515-2517). The article discusses a study of 100 patients having impacted wisdom teeth removed and if watching a video during the informed consent process makes them more or less anxious. The authors were interested in such a study because in the past watching a video during the informed consent process of wisdom teeth removal has decreased anxiety in some cases but in other cases has increased anxiety. Further, if patients are more anxious prior to surgery they can be uncooperative which can cause the surgeon stress and lead to longer surgeries. In the study, 100 patients between 18 and 35 years of age having impacted wisdom … Read more