What to Expect for Your First Dental Filling

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When you go for your first dental filling, whether it’s just one of the first of many, there are a few things to expect. Whether you have a cavity needing a filling or your tooth has been severely worn away by grinding at night, you can trust that the procedure is less traumatic than you’ve been previously led to believe. What Is a Filling, Anyway? The ultimate goal of dentistry is to make your smile as beautiful and long-lasting as possible. To maintain that beauty, your dentist may have to place a dental filling, also known as a “dental restoration,” in your tooth. Dentists can use a variety of dental fillings for the many different kinds of dental cavities. Dental fillings are used in cases where cavities are present in the teeth. A cavity is caused when a sugar-craving bacteria … Read more

Record Numbers Predicted to Die from Opioids in the US

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As has been covered on this site before, opioid abuse which can stem from wisdom teeth surgery at a young age is a major challenge in countries like the U.S. There are many stories of families where a young person in their teenage or twenty years has their wisdom teeth taken out and then are exposed to opioids to control pain. This exposure can lead to them become potentially addicted to opioids and then later die as a result of this addiction. Thus, finding alternatives to opioids for surgery like wisdom teeth removal is important to help curb a disturbing trend. See posts like Dentists Overprescribing Opioids to Adults in the U.S., New Research Being Conducted at Rutgers for Opioid Alternatives Could Lead to Less Potential Drug Abuse for those Having Wisdom Teeth Surgery, and Studies and Opinions on Opioids … Read more

Woman Parodies Birth Announcement with her Wisdom Tooth Removal

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Nowadays the social media landscape is rapidly shifting more to a short-form video form, dominated not by Facebook parent Meta Platforms, but by TikTok. In January 2022, a woman who is a registered dental hygienist used her wisdom tooth removal as an opportunity to make a parody video of a birth announcement on her TikTok account. In the video, the woman examines a toothbrush which she uses as her “pregnancy test”. While looking at the toothbrush the woman acts suprised but happy by what she sees. Next, the woman shows a shot of an x-ray on her wisdom tooth which is accompanied by the sounds of an ultrasound, which of course is a common diagnostic test before one gives birth. In the third shot, the woman shows the toothbrush with the word “impacted” taped to it, a print-out of the dental … Read more

What are Dental Extractions?

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Dental extractions are the process of removing teeth. They typically are not painful. Dental extractions can range in difficulty depending on factors including position, anatomy, and density of bone. They can be simple or complicated, requiring a surgical approach. A dental anesthetic is used to freeze the extraction site to prevent pain during dental extraction. Patients usually have mild discomfort following dental extraction that can be relieved with pain killers such as Ibuprofen. What Are Dental Extractions? Teeth are extracted when they aren’t performing their normal functions. These could include teeth that would cost too much to repair or teeth with deep decay which could damage nerves and other healthy teeth in your mouth if they were left untreated. Sometimes dental extractions are necessary for orthodontic purposes. Extractions can range in difficulty depending on factors including position, anatomy, and density … Read more

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leads to Giant Lung Abscess

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A unique complication of wisdom teeth removal is described in the article titled “A 45-Year-Old Man With Acute Chest Pain, Fever, and Dyspnea After Tooth Extraction” appearing in the December 2021 edition of Chest written by Tashiro et al. (issue 160, no. 6, pp. e623 – e628). In the article, discussion is made of a healthy 45-year-old man who experienced respiratory failure due to a giant lung abscess that formed as a result of oral bacteria after a wisdom tooth extraction. Two days after having a wisdom tooth removed, the 45-year-old man in Japan developed chest pain on his right side. Two weeks after the wisdom tooth extraction, the man went to a hospital because he had a fever, difficulty breathing, and had a cough and purulent sputum. The man was in good health and visited a dentist twice a … Read more