Wisdom Teeth Removal in the Eldery

An interesting article titled “Third Molar Complications in the Elderly—A Matched-Pairs Analysis” appears in the 2017 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery written by Baensch et al. (vol. 75, pp. 680-686). The article explores the perioperative morbidity of wisdom teeth removal in elderly patients to better determine the long-term future burden on waiting until old age to have wisdom teeth extracted. The article addresses how if there is less early (prophylactic) wisdom teeth surgery in young adult patients this will inevitably lead to an increasing number of elderly patients with persisting problems with wisdom teeth that necessitate their removal and this can lead to potential complications. In the article the authors devised a study to compare patients 65 years old or older to patients between the ages of 15 and 20 after having wisdom teeth removed. A … Read more

Fractured Elevator Tip After Wisdom Teeth Removal

After or during having wisdom teeth surgery complications are a possibility. One of these complications listed on http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html is displacement of a foreign body such as a dental instrument. Usually this is seen with a dental needle that breaks off but can also be seen with the dental drill bit or the blade of an elevator. A case is described in the article titled “A unique post-operative complication” written by Modgill and Mani appearing in Oral Surgery in 2016 (vol. 9, pp. 15-18) which describes a fractured elevator tip during removal of an upper wisdom tooth. In the article the authors say they are aware of only two prior cases of fracture of an instrument during teeth removal and that such retained fractured instrument fragments can cause pain or lead to an infection. In the article they describe the case … Read more

Was Wisdom Teeth Removal Performed Without Consent that Lead to Trigeminal Nerve Damage, Migraines, and Dizziness?

An Illinois woman has filed a lawsuit against her dentist and dentist assistant in October, 2019, alleging that four wisdom teeth were extracted without informed consent. Just before the surgery occurring in September 2017, the woman alleges that she spoke with the dental assistant about concerns with going forward with the extraction. However, the surgery proceeded and the woman was given general anesthesia. The woman’s boyfriend at the time of the surgery signed of on the informed consent form although there was no legal right to do so. The dentist was not aware that the woman had nerves that were too close to the wisdom tooth and thus should have required a more complex procedure. The suit says the dentist used an “overly aggressive, improper technique” and “negligently and carelessly failed to properly inform the plaintiff of all the risks.” … Read more

Using Cryotherapy including Ice Packs and Cold Compress after Wisdom Teeth Surgery to Reduce Swelling and Pain and Improve Mouth Opening

An interesting article titled “Therapeutic efficacy of cryotherapy on facial swelling, pain, trismus and quality of life after surgical removal of mandibular third molars: A systematic review,” written by Larson et al. appears in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation (2019). The article seeks to test the hypothesis that swelling, pain and trismus (limited mouth opening) is not changed from the use of cyrotherapy. Cryotherapy is where cold is applied to the skin for therapeutic purposes such as using ice packs, gel packs, cold compresses, and Hilotherm face masks. Cryotherapy is regularly used by athletes to treat musculoskeletal injuries. It is known that many patients are using cryotherapy after wisdom teeth removal already, see for example the post Recent Celebrities to have Wisdom Teeth Removal. The authors were motivated to perform the study because facial swelling, pain and trismus had not … Read more

Kylie Jenner and Sofia Richie Latest Celebrities to have Wisdom Teeth Removed in 2020

Within the last week both Kylie Jenner and Sofia Richie both had their wisdom teeth removed. Both had their wisdom teeth removed on Monday February 17, 2020. In recent years many other celebrities have also had wisdom teeth surgery, see the posts Meghan Trainor Has All Four Wisdom Teeth Removed, Celebrities who have had Wisdom Teeth Extracted, and Recent Celebrities to have Wisdom Teeth Removal. Kylie Jenner is a 22 year old woman is a famous American media personality known best for appearing with her sisters on the reality television show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She also runs her own company Kylie Cosmetics. She is active on social media platforms and took to her Instagram to post a photo with the caption “Hi I got my wisdom teeth taken out. This sucks.” after she had all four wisdom teeth extracted. She … Read more