infection

Using Rifamycin for Reducing Complications After Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Evaluation of the efficacy of topical rifamycin application on postoperative complications after lower impacted wisdom teeth surgery” appears in the Journal of Stomatology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery written by Levent Cigerim and et. al. (online 11 May 2023, 101501). The article explores the efficacy of a single-dose of topical rifamycin application to reduce complications after wisdom teeth surgery. Rifamycin has been shown to be effective in the inflammatory phase of wound healing by inhibiting prostaglandins, TNF-α and IL-8. In the study the authors included 35 patients with bilaterally impacted lower wisdom teeth that were removed for orthodontic reasons. The patients were split into two groups where the extraction sockets were irrigated with 3 ml/250 mg of rifamycin or with saline. The patients had their pain intensity measured daily for 7 days using a visual analog scale. Mouth … Read more

Patients Wisdom Teeth Extraction Results in Reactive Arthritis

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An interesting article titled “Reactive Arthritis Resulting From Postoperative Complications of Third Molar Extraction: A Case Report,” appears in Cureus in August 23, 2022, written by Lauren Maytin and Jeffrey Morrison (vol. 14, no. 8, pp. e28325). The article presents a case report of a 23 year old woman who develped reactive arthritis after wisdom teeth extraction. In the article the authors discuss a 23 year old woman who had a history of lower back and joint pain but developed more severe of symptoms of bilateral shoulder pain, decreased range of motion in her left shoulder, and worsening lower back after having an infected infected wisdom tooth extracted. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and and was prescribed adalimumab. Her laboratory results showed elevated indicators of inflammatory activity that were positive for HLA-B27. The woman presented to two weeks after wisdom … 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

Twenty something year old woman spends two nights in ICU after wisdom tooth removal and failures by dentist

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In April 2018 in New Zealand, a twenty something year old woman had to spend two nights in the intensive care unit (ICU) after having a wisdom tooth removed. The woman had a lower right wisdom tooth extracted. This was after she presented at a dental clinic and told the dentist that she had experience on and off pain for over two years near the lower right wisdom tooth. Recently she had constant pain for over a week and and found it difficult to eat or open her mouth. The dentist diagnosed pericoronitis, which is inflammation of the tissue surrounding wisdom teeth and said the woman could either have an antibiotic to take or have the wisdom tooth extracted. The woman elected extraction. In the days that followed the woman “was in pain, her face was swollen, and she could … Read more

Lemierre’s Syndrome after Wisdom Teeth Removal

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An interesting article titled “Lemierre’s Syndrome Following Extraction of Wisdom Teeth,” appears in the October 20, 2020 edition of the Cureus Journal of Medical Science (written by A. Keshary and M. Hagan, 12(10): e11061). The article describes a case of an 18 year old man who had his wisdom teeth extracted and then developed Lemierre’s Syndrome which rarely occurs after wisdom tooth removal but is is known to affect young and healthy adults; See Near Death Wisdom Teeth Removal Experience where another case has been discussed on this site in the past. Lemierre’s syndrome is a serious bloodstream infection typically caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum. It has a death rate of around 18% and thus if detected needs to be quickly treated with antibiotics. Very few cases of Lemierre’s syndrome after wisdom teeth surgery have occurred since antibiotics became readily available. In the … Read more