Comparing Wisdom Teeth in the United States of America and Sweden

An interesting article titled “Contrasting Patterns for Missing Third Molars in the United States and Sweden,” appears in the 2017 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery written by Magraw et al. (vol. 75, pp. 1113-1117). The article seeks to compare the prevalence of wisdom teeth in different age populations among the United States of America and Sweden. The authors wanted to look at data regarding the prevalence or absence of wisdom teeth in various populations. At the time of their study their were only two studies that they were aware of. The authors thus took data from these two studies for comparison purposes. Specifically the studies used were: 1) Hugoson et al. “The prevalence of third molars in a Swedish population. An epidemiological study,” Community Dent Health vol. 5, no. 121, 1988 and 2) Magraw et al. … Read more

Too Much Sugar Consumption is Leading to Increased Dental Treatments

At the global level the costs of dental treatment are currently running at around 172 billion US dollars. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Biotechnology Research and Information Network AG (BRAIN AG) carried out research within the alliance NatLifE 2020. The alliance is co-financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, with the aim of understanding of biological systems leading to the development of a new generation of sustainably produced and biological active substances for foods and cosmetics. The researchers evaluated data on the prevalence of caries, inflammation of gums (periodontitis) and tooth loss, costs of treatments, and sugar consumption, in 168 countries for the year 2010. Using this data they calculated the share of total costs due to excessive consumption of sugar. The researchers looked into consumption of white household sugar and sugar in processed products, … Read more

Is it Safe to Drink Large Amounts of Pineapple Juice after Wisdom Teeth Surgery that People on TikTok are Doing?

Recently, several young adults have been trying a remedy prior to having their wisdom teeth removed where they drink a large amount of pineapple juice. This has been shared on TikTok by several people. Mackenzie Fuhrman, who is a 21 year old nursing student, shared on her TikTok a video that shows her with a 46 ounce can of pineapple juice. She also says she has a few smaller cans she will add to it to make 64 ounces. She is doing this based on another TikTok video she saw where a woman named Valeria drank 64 ounces of pineapple juice prior to her wisdom teeth surgery (see https://www.tiktok.com/@valeriagreenz/video/6986417135824145670) as a way to prevent swelling after the procedure and provide nearly instant recovery. Mackenzie said that she further researched about pineapple juice and found scientific proof to back the claims. … Read more

Charli D’Amelio Wisdom Teeth Journey

Just a few weeks ago on this blog, an article was shared titled Brad Pitt, Cara Delevingne, and Russell Wilson Latest Celebrities to have Wisdom Teeth Removed in 2021 that discussed some big name celebrities to have wisdom teeth extracted in 2021. A few days after that article was published, TikTok star Charli D’Amelio had her wisdom teeth extracted. Of course knowing, Charli she had to document the whole procedure of her wisdom teeth surgery and the aftermath for her followers. She posted a nearly 13 minute video on YouTube that already after a few weeks has over 3 million views. In the video, Charli is seen driving to the procedure. When she arrives she shows a panoramic x-ray of her mouth which includes her four wisdom teeth. She points to them and says how a few of them hurt … Read more

Does a Surgeon’s Right or Left Handedness Effect Teeth Adjacent Wisdom Teeth After Removal?

An interesting articled titled “Effect of the Surgeon’s Dominant Hand on Postoperative Periodontal Status of Adjacent Molars After Removal of Lower Third Molars” by Petsos et al. appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 77, pp. 912-919). The authors devised a study to explore if the side of the wisdom tooth, either left or right, had an influence, and the hand the surgeon prefers to use, either left or right, has different effects on the periodontal status of the second molars adjacent the wisdom teeth. In the study the authors selected patients who had lower wisdom teeth on both the left and right sides, had no systematic diseases, and were able to complete a follow-up six months after surgery. All patients were treated by the same right handed surgeon who was always positioned … Read more