Rogue Dentist’s Crusade

An interesting article appears recently over on Yahoo by Liz Goodwin, December 3, 2012, titled “Rouge dentist’s 30-year crusade against wisdom teeth removal extracts results,” located over at http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/rogue-dentist-30-crusade-against-wisdom-teeth-removal-105243007.html. The article discusses 86 year old (retired) dentist and public health advocate Jay Friedman. I have talked about Dr. Friedman before such as on this post https://blog.teethremoval.com/american-journal-of-public-health-author-jay-w-friedman-is-2009-author-of-the-year/. The article on Yahoo states “Friedman has argued for more than 30 years that removing a young person’s healthy wisdom teeth — called “third molars” by professionals — is an unnecessary and irresponsible practice. …Many dentists and oral surgeons have dismissed him as a traitor and a zealot…” The article discusses how oral surgeons have been angered by Dr. Friedman and have questioned his qualifications. Some say he is biased against wisdom teeth extractions because his aim is to save the insurance industry money. … Read more

Music To Listen to After Wisdom Teeth Removal: Gangnam Style

I have previously made several posts with some recommendations for some music you can listen to if you are recovering from wisdom teeth removal surgery. See the posts Music to Listen to After Wisdom Teeth Removal: Christian Music, Music to Listen to After Wisdom Teeth Removal: Jazz Songs, Music to Listen to After Wisdom Teeth Removal: Rock and Roll Songs, and Music To Listen to After Wisdom Teeth Removal: YouTube Musicians. Now I wanted to make another post about some things you can do after having  your wisdom teeth extraction and this time make it Gangnam Style! PSY – Gangnam Style If you haven’t heard about this video yet, it is now the most watched video on YouTube and has over 800 million views. It recently surpassed Justin Bieber’s “Baby” which was previously the most watched video on YouTube. PSY’s … Read more

Multi-Million Dollar Award In New York for Wisdom Tooth Extraction

A 49 year old man had issues with a wisdom tooth. He went to several different times and had him attempt to remove it. He was sent home believing the extraction had been performed. However, the dentist had stopped the extraction after learning that the tooth was fused to the bone. Several hours after returning home, the man was rushed to the emergency room and was diagnosed with air emphysema and residuals roots by an oral surgeon. The oral surgeon than extracted the remaining portions of the wisdom tooth. Both the oral surgeon and dentist were found liable for the man’s injuries as neither obtained informed consent for the procedures they performed. The man has been unable to return to work as a hydro-geologist, and remains totally disabled as a result of his constant pain. He suffered extensive oral nerve … Read more

Politics of Dental Anesthesiology

A recent article titled “Dental anesthesiology falls short of becoming ADA specialty,” by Rob Goskowski, Nov. 1, 2012, located at http://www.drbicuspid.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=rst&pag=dis&ItemID=311903, discusses a recent vote that took place at the House of Delegates during the 2012 American Dental Association (ADA) Annual Session. The House of Delegates voted against recognizing Dental anesthesiology as the 10th ADA recognized specialty. Steven Ganzberg, a clinical professor and the chair of dental anesthesiology at UCLA says: “This action by the ADA confirms that the ADA process of specialty approval is fatally flawed….This was clearly an effort by the ADA, through AAOMS [the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons], to restrict professional activities that specialty recognition would have provided.” Dr. Ganzberg and some other supporters were hoping that the specialty would be approved as they felt it would lead to increased training and emergency preparedness … Read more

Should you use Sutures when having Wisdom Teeth Out?

A study titled “A comparative study of the effect of suture-less and multiple suture techniques on inflammatory complications following third molar surgery” appears in the 2012 (in press) International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgry by O.D. Osunde, R.A. Adebola, and B. D. Saheeb. The study in Nigeria included 80 patients between the ages of 18 and 30 who had a mandibular third molar extracted. These patients were randomized into 2 treatment groups A: (suture-less – no sitches) and B: multiple sutures. The operation time was found to be roughly 3 minutes longer in the sutures group (statistically significant). In addition, the suture-less group experienced less pain, swelling, and trismus on post-operative days 1 and 2 (statistically significant). In the article the authors state: “The suture-less technique is cheap, saves operative time, minimizes manipulation of soft tissue and hence causes … Read more