Parents Sue After Three Year Old Kansas Boy Died from Dental Work

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In July 2021, a three year old boy died after having dental work done in Kansas. A few months later the parents filed a lawsuit against the the dentist, the dental office, the nurse anesthetist, and the anesthesia company. The young boy needed to have some teeth removed due to a gum infection. He went with his mother to two dental offices in southwest Kansas to help choose a dental office. Ultimately a dental office was chosen in Wichita, Kansas which was four hours from their home. According to the timeline of events in the lawsuit, during the boy’s dental work he was given anesthesia with propofol and ketamine by the nurse anesthetist at 7:15 A.M. Around 8 AM the boy was given another dose of propofol by the nurse anesthetist. Around the same time the nurse anesthetist noticed an … Read more

Could a Medication One Day Be Given Instead of Braces to Control Tooth Movement?

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Recent research from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) showed that osteocytes have a crucial role in orthodontic tooth movement as the major source of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL) which is a protein critical to bone remodeling. It is  known that the differentiation of osteoclasts is regulated by RANKL. However, the source of RANKL in the periodontal tissue during orthodontic tooth movement was not previously identified. Now thanks to the research team it is know that osteocytes mainly express RANKL and play a key role in the remodeling of  bone surrounding teeth during orthodontic tooth movement. To explore this issue, the researchers used an orthodontic tooth movement model in which open coil springs were inserted between teeth of mice to move first molars. They then injected a neutralizing antibody against RANKL intended to reduce tooth movement. The … Read more

Using imaging to assess the impaction of lower wisdom teeth as one ages

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An interesting article titled “Impaction of lower third molars and their association with age: radiological perspectives,” written by Ryalat et al. appears in BMC Oral Health in 2018 (vol. 18, no. 1, Published April 4, 2018). The article explores the impaction pattern in radiographic images of wisdom teeth. The authors were motivated by the belief that if the impaction patterns of wisdom teeth can be identified this can help guide clinical decision making regarding to extract or to retain lower impacted wisdom teeth. Specifically, for the study two individuals looked at 1,198 orthopantomographs or panoramic radiographs with 1,810 impacted lower wisdom teeth or third molars. Originally a total of 4,600 orthopantomographs were retrieved from those taken at The University of Jordan Hospital between the years 2010 and 2014, but 3,402 were excluded due to patient age being outside of the … Read more

Wisdom for Wisdom Program Offers Free Wisdom Teeth Removal

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Several oral surgeons in the U.S. are currently accepting applications for their wisdom for wisdom program. This program allows for students to submit an application for an opportunity to have wisdom teeth removal performed for free. Typically extraction of four wisdom teeth can cost between $2,000 to $3,000 based on the level of impaction of difficulty and the type of sedation the patient is having. This program is designed to help allow college students who have numerous other expenses, to use the savings towards textbooks, room and board, or tuition for courses. The wisdom for wisdom program seems to have been started within the last five years and picked up steam during the COVID-19 pandemic when many young students were having financial struggles because their parents lost their job or they could not find a summer job. This program has … Read more

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