oral surgeon

Invasive dental procedures linked to heart inflammation

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An interesting study titled “Endocarditis, invasive dental procedures, and antibiotic prophylaxis efficacy in US Medicaid patients” appears in Oral Diseases on April 27, 2023, written by Martin Thornhill and et. al. The study investigates the association between invasive dental procedures and endocarditis, which is inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and heart valves. In the study the authors used the MarketScan multi-state Medicaid database to examine 1.68 million Medicaid patients with linked medical, dental, and prescription data and compared it to 7.95 million individuals with employer-provided Commercial/Medicare-Supplemental health coverage with linked dental and prescription benefits. The authors found that the cohort study showed increased endocarditis incidence within 30 days of invasive dental procedures in those at high risk, particularly after extractions or oral surgery. It was also determined that antibiotic prophylaxis significantly reduced endocarditis incidence following invasive … Read more

Taskforce says teledentistry can help improve global oral health

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An interesting article titled “Taskforce backs the benefits of teledentistry to improve global oral care outcomes” appears in BDJ In Practice in 2023 (volume 36, page 8). The article discusses how a task force that has conveyed has concluded that teledentistry has the ability to give millions more people than currently accross the world access to dental services. Teledentistry has been covered before on this site see for example the posts Cosmetic Dentistry in the Era of COVID-19 and Delivering Dentistry and Counseling to Patients using Telemedicine. The article discusses how the taskforce feels that teledentistry can help to improve education, dental referrals, early detection of disease, treatment planning and treatment viability. Teledentistry can be particulary helpful in areas where there is limited access to dental professionals. The taskforce understands that heping to preventive dental disease is the best option and dental professionals … Read more

Cinematic rendering to visualize teeth segmentation

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An interesting article titled “Cinematic rendering to improve visualization of supplementary and ectopic teeth using CT datasets” written by Ines Willershausen and et. al. appears in Dentomaxillofacial Radiology in 2023 (no. 51, 20230058). The article discusses cinematic rendering (CR) which is a visualization technique that uses physically based volume rendering to create photorealistic images from Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) data. Specifically the article attempts to tailor pre-existing CR reconstruction parameters for use in dental imaging to create 3D visualization of ectopic, impacted, and supplementary teeth. This image is from Ines Willershausen and et. al., “Cinematic rendering to improve visualization of supplementary and ectopic teeth using CT datasets,” Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, 2023, no. 51, 20230058 and has a Creative Commons license. 7-year-old girl with a horizontally impacted canine (a) A panoramic radiograph. (b) Semi-transparent reconstruction parameters are utilized to … Read more

Sedative-induced sexual fantasies a risk in dentistry

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An intersting article titled “The Impact of Sedative Hypnotic Drugs on Hallucinated Sexual Assault or Sexual Fantasies Involving Health Professionals: A Systematic Review” appears in the 2023 edition of the Journal of clinical pharmacology written by M. White and M. White. The article seeks to conduct a review on the issue of hallucinated sexual assaults caused by drugs used in denstry like midazolam while dental procedures are peformed on patients. This topic has been covered before on this site see for example the post Hallucinations While Taking Anesthesia: Implications for Sexual Assault. In the article discussion is made of how real sexault assaults have occured in the medical setting. An example is made of a 21 year old college woman who was given 10mg of diazepam intravenously while having a procedure performed and her doctor innappropriate touched her. Examples of … Read more

Recreational Marijuana Uses Effect on Vital Signs and Anesthetic Requirements During Oral Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Is Recreational Marijuana Use Associated With Changes in the Vital Signs or Anesthetic Requirements During Intravenous Sedation?” appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in January 18, 2023, written by Pooja Gangwani and et. al. The article sough to explore the association of cannabis’ psychoactive element tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) use on the vital signs and anesthetic requirements during sedation procedures. The study was the first to explore this findings on THC and its effects on sedation in the oral and maxillofacial surgery literature. In the article the authors used a retrospective cohort of 53 patients who were treated at an oral and maxillofacial surgery department between July 2018 and May 2022. The patients included in the study had undergone toxicology screening due to their history of recent drug use and received IV sedation. THC status was … Read more