dentist

The Defensive Patients Guide to Wisdom Teeth Removal

by

Medical doctors are often accused of practicing what is known as defensive medicine. With defensive medicine, a doctor will deviate from the normal practice of medicine in order to perform a medical treatment or run a diagnostic test in order to reduce potential exposure to a malpractice lawsuit. This leads to treatments and tests that are not clinically necessary and is often said to be a cause of overtesting and overtreatment. Defensive medicine is discussed as serving to protect the physician from a lawsuit by the patient. What is not discussed is the idea that a patient can also practice defensive medicine to protect the patient from losing a legitimate lawsuit against the physician. Applying this concept to wisdom teeth surgery, the following is suggested for a patient to help protect themselves from losing a legitimate lawsuit against a physician, … Read more

New Research Being Conducted at Rutgers for Opioid Alternatives Could Lead to Less Potential Drug Abuse for those Having Wisdom Teeth Surgery

by

Recently this past year many posts appeared on this site discussing opioids being given after wisdom teeth surgery. Such posts include Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Current Perspectives on Opioid Prescribing, Do Oral Surgeons Give Too Many Opioids for Wisdom Teeth Removal?, Important Studies on Opioid Prescribing: Implications for Dentistry, and Studies and Opinions on Opioids After Wisdom Teeth Removal. It is clear that finding viable alternatives to opioids without the same addicting qualities is a worthwhile endeavor. A potential opioid alternative was discussed in the post Long-acting Local Anesthetic After Wisdom Teeth Removal. Recently in September, 2019, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine was awarded an $11.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on the combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen to be used as an alternative to opioids [1]. This study will involve 1,800 patients and will … Read more

Acquiring Hepatitis C at the Oral Surgery Office

by

One of the complications that can occur from wisdom teeth removal is to have an acquired infection. A particularly devastating infection that can be acquired is hepatitis C. There is one known case of a person acquiring hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV while at an oral surgery office which occurred in the fall of 2012 in Oklahoma. The patient received implants and also had a tooth removed in preparation. This case was covered at the time on this blog in the post Dental Patients Warned of Possible HIV and Hepatitis Exposure Due to Oral Surgeon’s Practices and in the media at the time such as in the article 7,000 patients warned of possible hepatitis, HIV exposure by Donna Domino appearing on DrBicuspid.com on March 29, 2013. After time was given for facts to come out, an article titled “Confirmed Transmission … Read more

Why You Need Tooth Extractions before Orthodontic Treatment

by

Orthodontic treatment for each patient needs to be planned differently based on the individual patient’s, needs and requirements. Therefore, before placing teeth braces, your orthodontist checks for any severe crowding or other factor that helps decide if tooth extraction is required or not. When tooth extraction will be needed: Orthodontists generally avoid tooth extractions unless a critical factor encourages them to recommend it. However, some major factors that may convince your orthodontist to extract your tooth are: Crowded teeth Extra teeth must be removed as they affect the position of other teeth too.  It also helps create space for necessary tooth movement. Besides, lack of space for all teeth can cause a crooked smile or lead to a bad bite. Expansion of arches can help treat mild to moderate crowding of teeth, but it is limited to facial aesthetics and … Read more

Is it Safe for Children to Receive Sedation/Anesthesia from an Oral Surgeon or Dentist using a Single Provider/Operator Model?

by

Recently on this site there has been much discussion on updated guidelines put out by various groups that argue that children having deep sedation and anesthesia are not safely being served by dentists and oral surgeons using a single provider/operator model. Instead these guidelines call for a multi-provider model where the person doing the dental work or oral surgery and the person administering and monitoring the sedation/anesthesia are two separate individuals. See the posts AAOMS Pushes Back on Anesthesia Guidelines for Pediatric Patients and Updated Sedation Guidelines in Dentistry for Children for additional details. Some of the individuals leading the charge against the current anesthesia delivery model for children have published a new opinion piece titled “The Single-Clinician–Operator/Anesthetist Model for Dental Deep Sedation/Anesthesia: A Major Safety Issue for Children” published online in JAMA Pediatrics on Oct. 28, 2019 (written by … Read more