Piezoelectric Handpiece versus Standard Handpiece for Wisdom Teeth Surgery

An interesting article titled “Comparison of a piezoelectric and a standard surgical handpiece in third molar surgery” appears in the 2019 edition of Oral Surgery written by Gopal et al (vol. 12, pp. 30-34). The article discusses if there are any advantageous to using either a piezoelectric handpiece or a standard surgical handpiece with respect to outcomes after wisdom teeth surgery. In the article the authors describe how a piezoelectric handpiece can allow for micrometric cuts with maximum surgical precision and minimal damage to soft tissue. A study was devised including 30 patients who presented in Cape Town, South Africa for removal of all 4 wisdom teeth. The patients had their wisdom teeth removed on one side using a piezoelectric handpiece and on the other side using a standard surgical handpiece and thus a split-mouth design was used. All surgeries … Read more

Does Intravaneuous Dexamethasone Reduce Pain and Swelling and Improve Mouth Opening After Wisdom Teeth Surgery?

An interesting article titled “Efficacy of intravenous dexamethasone administered preoperatively and postoperatively on pain, swelling, and trismus following third molar surgery. A comparative study” written by Giri et al. appears in the 2019 edition of Oral Surgery (vol. 12, pp. 110-117). The article explores if intravenous dexamethasone given either shortly before or after wisdom teeth surgery has any any effect when compared on the time of administration on pain, swelling, and trismus (mouth opening) experienced in the week after surgery. Previously on this site in a post titled Does Intravaneuous Ibuprofen Reduce Pain After Wisdom Teeth Surgery? it was shown that preoperative intravenous ibuprofen administration significantly reduced the pain experienced after surgery. In the article by Giri the authors say that dexamethasone is a type of corticosteroid that has a strong anti-inflammatory action. Dexamethasone has a half-life of 36–54 hours … Read more

Personal Injuries After Wisdom Teeth Removal

For many wisdom teeth surgery means having surgery for an hour or so, resting up at home and eating a restricted diet for a few days at home afterwards, and then getting back on with their normal life. However, wisdom teeth removal does not always go to plan and many suffer from complications, such as described at http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. For some of these people, the complications can be very life altering and life changing. They may even mean life as it once was will never be the same. Many patients who suffer from complications file civil lawsuits and sue in an attempt to be awarded damages including money. Cases of personal injuries after wisdom teeth are described at http://www.teethremoval.com/dental_malpractice.html. Other examples of these cases have been discussed in past blog posts such as Was Wisdom Teeth Removal Performed Without Consent that … Read more

Music to Listen to After Wisdom Teeth Surgery: 2021 Edition

While 2020 has been a very different year than normal, the new year of 2021 is now here. As has been done in years past on this blog, to kick off the new year, a post has been made about music one can listen to after having wisdom teeth extracted. There are of course other ways to recover, such as watching TV or reading books, but this post is to give some music recommendations available on YouTube for a listen. As mentioned earlier, many posts in the past have appeared on this site providing recommendations for music to listen to after wisdom teeth removal. These posts for a recap are: YouTube Musicians Rock and Roll Songs Jazz Songs Christian Music Gangnam Style 2013 Edition 2018 Edition 2019 Edition 2020 Edition Below is the 2021 edition of music to listen to … Read more

Management for an Ectopic Wisdom Tooth

One of the medically necessary valid reasons that the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons gives for removal of a wisdom tooth is if it is in an ectopic position. So the question is what exactly is the ectopic wisdom tooth and what should one do about it? In the article titled “Removal of ectopic mandibular third molar teeth: literature review and a report of three cases” written by Ahmed and Speculand appearing in Oral Surgery in 2012 (vol. 5, pp. 39-44) discussion is made of a literature review of ectopic wisdom tooth along with three cases of lower ectopic wisdom teeth. In the article titled “Ectopic wisdom tooth in the condyle area” written by Mourouzis et al. appearing in Oral Surgery in 2011 (vol. 4, pp. 194–196) discussion is made of an upper ectopic wisdom tooth in a … Read more