Studies and Opinions on Opioids After Wisdom Teeth Removal

by

Recently on this site there have been several posts regarding giving patients opioids after wisdom teeth removal. In the post Do Oral Surgeons Give Too Many Opioids for Wisdom Teeth Removal? a study by Resnick et al. appearing in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was discussed (titled “Do Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Over-Prescribe Opioids After Extraction of Asymptomatic Third Molars?”). Recently some commentary in a letter to the editor appearing in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery has been provided titled “Opioid Prescription Following Third Molar Extractions,” written by Subramanian and Quek which questions the validity of the study by Resnick. In the article by Subramanian and Quek some very valid points are made. First, the article by Resnick only relied on voluntary reporting of opioid use and this … Read more

5 Tips to Maximize Your Dental Insurance Coverage

by

While it is a somewhat common fear for people, going to the dentist is one of the most important things you can do for your health and well-being. Not getting your teeth cleaned and checked up on frequently can lead to plenty of unsightly, harmful and painful symptoms or issues. Unfortunately, many Americans see a dentist much less frequently than they would like. A big reason for this is cost. Paying for dental visits out of pocket can be expensive. As a result, most people will have some type of dental insurance coverage to save them money on these important visits.  However, simply having coverage isn’t always good enough. In order to truly get the most out of your plan, you need to be sure to maximize your coverage. If you are curious about how you can go about doing … Read more

Recent Cases of Dentist Assistant Sexual Assault During Wisdom Teeth Removal

by

In the past some cases of sexual assault occurring during surgery to remove wisdom teeth has been discussed, see for example the post Dentist Who Groped Patients Sentenced to Jail and http://www.teethremoval.com/sexual_assault_under_anesthesia_for_wisdom_teeth_removal.html. These cases typically involve the dentist or oral surgeon as the ones making the sexual assault. However, a few cases in recent years have involved a dental assistant as the one making the sexual assault. The first of such cases occurred in 2015 and 2016 in San Diego, California. It was believed the dental assistant assaulted 13 victims over this time with most of them being younger patients who were assaulted while having wisdom teeth extracted. In each case the women were placed under anesthesia for wisdom teeth removal and the sexual assault occurred after the surgery when the dental assistance was supposed to be cleaning up the … Read more

Proving a Person is Older than 18 Years Based on the Periodontal Space (Ligament) and Root Pulp of Lower Wisdom Teeth from Imaging

by

Recently, four articles that have been published on this site regarding using wisdom teeth as seen in an image from either panoramic x-ray or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to estimate age: 1) forensic age estimation using wisdom teeth, 2) using panoramic x-rays of lower wisdom teeth to legally prove if someone is older than 18 years and 21 years, 3) Using lower wisdom teeth developmental stages determined from panoramic x-rays to calculate age, and 4) dental age estimation using MRI of wisdom teeth. From these studies discussed their appears to be a need to further explore using the so called Olze methods from Olze et al., “Evaluation of the radiographic visibility of the root pulp in the lower third molars for the purpose of forensic age estimation in living individuals,” in the International Journal of Legal Medicine, vol. 124, pp. 183–186, 2010, and Olze et al., “Assessment … Read more

Dentist Who Groped Patients Sentenced to Jail

by

A Melbourne Australian dentist who groped his patients was sentenced to jail for seven years in late 2018. The 60 year old dentist plead guilty to indecent assault of eight patients and one staff member over a period of nearly 20 years. He must serve at least four and a half years before being eligible for parole. The dentist had actually had his registration suspended due to a patient who died after having wisdom teeth removed in August 2017. The dentist had been prevented from treating women since November 2016 as complaints from women began to come in 2014. He first denied three complaints but then as additional complaints came in he was forced to go to trial. In one case the dentist ran his hands against a woman’s hips and breast and mouthed “I love you” to her. In … Read more