oral surgeon

The truthiness of extracting wisdom teeth: James R. Carey

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An excellent article was written yesterday October 3, 2011, titled “The truthiness of extracting wisdom teeth” by James R. Carey who is a Professor of Entomology at UC Davis  http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/facpage.cfm?id=carey The article is located at http://www.davisenterprise.com/opinion/opinion-columns/the-truthiness-of-extracting-wisdom-teeth/ and I think it is well worth a read for anyone considering wisdom teeth removal. He opens the article with “In this age of evidence-based health care, I was astonished to discover that the oral surgeon’s recommendation for removal of my 21-year-old daughter’s impacted wisdom teeth was not based on evidence, theory, logic or facts but rather on truthiness — the quality of being considered to be true because of what he wished.“ He goes on to say “Yet it is considered by dentists, oral surgeons and the majority of the public as “standard of care.” Neither I nor any family members or friends … Read more

Long Term Effects of Trigeminal Nerve Injuries from Dental Care

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A study was published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery titled “Long-Term Outcome of Trigeminal Nerve Injuries Related to Dental Treatment” by M. Anthony Pogrel, Ryan Jergensen, Eric Burgon, and Daniel Hulme. (vol. 69, pages 2284-2288, 2011) that looked at long-term effects of those who suffer from permanent nerve injury from dental treatment particularly involving the third molars or wisdom teeth. A total of 145 patients with 95 female and 50 male patients were involved in the study who had suffered a trigeminal nerve injury affecting either the inferior alveolar nerve or lingual nerve and in 8 cases both nerves. Nineteen patients (13.1 %) reported that their employment was affected, while 21  patients (14.5%)  reported problems with their relationship, 53  patients (36. 6%) reported depression, 55  patients (38%) reported problems speaking and pronouncing words correctly, 63  patients (43.5%) reported … Read more

How to Really Know if Wisdom Teeth Really Need to be Removed

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Earlier today a article appeared in the Huffington Post titled “How To Know If Wisdom Teeth Really Need To Be Removed.” The author attempts to discuss some of the ongoing debate regarding extracting wisdom teeth. He talks about how doctors are fair and responsible. However, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) continues to say on their webpage on wisdom teeth http://www.aaoms.org/wisdom_teeth.php It isn’t wise to wait until your wisdom teeth start to bother you. I would think a fair and responsible doctor would agree that the current scientific evidence should be presented to the patient of an elective procedure of teenagers and young adults such as described here http://www.teethremoval.com/controversy.html The author then refers to a study and says: “Interestingly, early removal of wisdom teeth (when the teeth have hardly any of the roots formed) has been shown … Read more

Are Dentists Ethical or Scam Artists?

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Recently The Journal of the American Dental Association has been running some “Ethical Moments” regarding dentists. This is purely propaganda and should not be taken at face value. For example Jeffrey C. Esterburg wrote an article titled Are Dentists Losing Their Status as Professionals? (J Am Dent Assoc, 2011; 142, 1084-1085). He opens up the article saying “As a new dentist, I am becoming increasingly concerned that what it means to be a dental professional is being lost in the eyes of the public and our vendors and consultants.” He goes on to discuss some conflicting pressures he is faced with running his dental practice. He then goes on to discuss the American Dental Association Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct. He closes the article by saying “The size of our hearts defines our success much more than does the size of our practices, homes or bank … Read more

Successful and Positive Wisdom Teeth Removal Experiences

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In the past I posted survey respondent elaborations of their wisdom teeth removal experience that were negative as in the outcome was not what they were expecting. For some of these you can see https://blog.teethremoval.com/wisdom-teeth-surgery-survey/ and https://blog.teethremoval.com/wisdom-teeth-extraction-survey/ If you have a spare few minutes please complete the wisdom teeth removal survey I have created which is linked to below. http://teethremoval.polldaddy.com/s/6E8CF57E23BD9041 Below are some survey responses of those who have had positive wisdom teeth extractions. All ages given are at the time of surgery. A 23 year old female who had 2 wisdom teeth removed says For me, the worst part was the “laughing gas”. Other than that, I have had no bleeding post-surgery, almost zero swelling, and have not needed to take any pain medication beyond Advil. A 48 year old male who had 4 wisdom teeth removed says after … Read more