dental procedure

Antibiotics for Dental Use Contributing to SuperBugs

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Research has shown that antibiotics prescribed by dentists for various dental surgeries and procedures may contribute to the development of Clostridium difficile (C. diff), a serious and potentially deadly infection with severe diarrhea. A common questions many patients ask if they are having their wisdom teeth out includes if they should take antibiotics. This topic has been covered before on teethremoval.com, for example see http://www.teethremoval.com/antibiotic_resistance.html, https://blog.teethremoval.com/patients-perception-of-antibiotic-need-after-teeth-removal/,and https://blog.teethremoval.com/the-effect-of-a-single-dose-of-antibiotics-prior-to-wisdom-teeth-surgery/. The current guidance seems to recommend a single dose of antibiotics prior to surgery for high risk patients for postoperative infections but other healthy patients do not need any antibiotics prior to surgery. During the annual ID Week2017, which is an annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), researchers presented their findings on antibiotic prescriptions leading … Read more

Retrieving a Broken Dental Needle Using a Minimally Invasive Technique

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An interesting article titled “Use of Intraoperative Navigation for Minimally Invasive Retrieval of a Broken Dental Needle” appears in the 2015 Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and written by Kyle M. Stein (vol. 73, pp. 1911-1916). The article describes retrieving a broken dental needle using a Medtronic StealthStation S7 surgical navigation system. The use of disposable needles in dentistry has rendered the occurrence of needle breakage an extremely rare event. However, this complication continues to occur, and can be caused by improper technique, inappropriate armamentarium, and unexpected patient movement. I have described a few cases of this occuring on the wisdom teeth complications page at http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. In almost every case, needle breakage occurs when an inferior alveolar nerve block is administered with 30-gauge short needles. In the article a case of a 13 year old female had a broken dental … Read more

Teeth whitening: Debunking the top myths

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Teeth whitening is one of the most mainstream dental procedures around. It has become so mainstream that a lot of options are do it yourself based. While you can find dentists in Ballymena or your wherever you may live, there are other ways in which you can apply an in-home treatment and reap the benefits. Admittedly, the latter isn’t quite as potent and the whiteness might not be as satisfying, but the option does exist. As this is a procedure which has become so popular over recent years, it’s hardly surprising to see that there are umpteen myths and misconceptions that are around. Bearing this in mind, some of the most common myths surrounding teeth whitening are highlighted below. Myth #1 – You can use fruit to whiten your teeth Strawberries and lemons seem to be the most commonly referred … Read more

Dental Patients Warned of Possible HIV and Hepatitis Exposure Due to Oral Surgeon’s Practices

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Previously in this post Oral Surgeon Investigated for Reusing Needles and Syringes it was discussed how last summer in 2012 an oral surgeon in Colorado was investigated for re-using syringes and needles while performing various oral and facial surgery procedures. Around 8,000 patients were told to be tested for potential HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Recently, in Oklahoma around 7,000 patients were told to be tested for potential HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C who were treated by an oral surgeon due to his potentially rusty instruments and lax sterilization procedures. A complaint by the Oklahoma  Board of  Dentistry was filed against the oral surgeon on March 26, 2013. It is located over at http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/ktul/documents/Harrington_Complaint_OBD.pdf (link dead as of 11/09/2019). The complaint says that an unidentified patient who was treated by the oral surgeon tested positive for HIV and … Read more