wisdom teeth extraction

Anxiety in Dental Patients Before and After Tooth Extraction

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An interesting article titled “Assessment of general pre and post operative anxiety in patients undergoing tooth extraction a prospective study,” appears in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and written by Pia López-Jornet and et al. (vol. 52, pp. 18-23, 2014). The article sought to explore the amount of anxiety and fear before, immediately after, and one week after dental extraction. The researchers included 70 patients in their study. It is known that fear and anxiety in dentistry is usually associated with poor oral health and poor oral health related quality of life. Some studies have shown that those with lower socioeconomic status and with less education have more anxiety but others have shown those with more education have more anxiety. The researchers believe that oral surgery is stressful for patients and that anxiety fluctuates over time. They feel dental anxiety can be assessed with self-reported … Read more

Exploring Antibiotic Use with Lower Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Correlation of antibiotic prophylaxis and difficulty of extraction with post operative inflammatory complications in the lower third molar surgery” appears in the 2014 British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and written by J. Y. Lee and et al. (vol. 52, pp. 54-57). The article set out to investigate the correlation between antibiotic prophylaxis, difficulty of extraction, and postoperative complications of lower wisdom teeth. The authors say that indiscriminate antibiotic prophylaxis can lead to antimicrobial resistance and a shift in the microbial population. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of extraction of lower wisdom teeth performed at Korea University Guro Hospital over a two year time frame starting in January 2010. The authors only included cases in which cefditoren pivoxil was prescribed as an antibiotic. In addition, patients that were kept in a hospital due to postoperative complications were excluded from the … Read more

Pneumomediastinum After Coronectomy

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An interesting article titled “Surgical emphysema and pneumomediastinum after coronectomy” appears in the 2015 British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and written by C. Wong and et al. (vol. 53, pp. 763-764). The article describes a case of emphysema and pneumomediastinum occuring in an otherwise healthy 48 year old women after coronectomy of a lower wisdom tooth. This was determined by a chest x-ray after she presented with swelling and impaired eye opening. No surgery was necessary and after staying in the hospital several hours she was discharged. Around a week later the swelling had resolved. The authors say they do not know of any other cases of pneumomediastinum occuring after coronectomy; however, it is known to occur after wisdom teeth removal. See http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html where a discussion of this occurs. It appears that an air turbine drill was used in this women’s case and introduced air into the mediastinum … Read more

Exploring Mandibular Wisdom Teeth Roots after Coronectomy

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Coronectomy involves the removal of part of the mandibular wisdom teeth but retention of the root. It is believed to cause less risk to the inferior alveolar nerve than extraction. An article on this topic titled “Histological evaluation of mandibular third molars roots retrieved after coronectomy,” appears in the 2015 British Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery and written by Vinod Patel and et. al (vol. 52, pp. 415-419). In the article the authors sought to find out the pulpal and periradicular status of retained roots of mandibular wisdom teeth and histologically evaluated coronectomy roots that were removed because of persistent symptoms. It is possible the roots had become infected. A total of 21 patients (with 26 roots) were included in their study with persistent symptoms after the roots had been retrieved. Of the 26 symptomatic roots, radiographic assessments showed coronectomy had been sufficient in … Read more

Painkiller Overdose in Michigan: Are Wisdom Teeth Extractions Contributing?

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Before on this blog I have talked about how oral surgeons prescribe powerful painkillers for use after wisdom teeth removal. It is possible some of these painkillers are instead used for non-medical use. See the posts https://blog.teethremoval.com/comparing-narcotic-prescribing-habits-for-oral-surgeons-in-the-u-s-and-canada/ and https://blog.teethremoval.com/do-oral-surgeons-prescribe-too-many-narcotics-for-use-after-wisdom-teeth-removal/. An interesting article titled “Synder officials take on painkiller overdose ‘epidemic’” located at  http://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/wellness/2015/10/12/prescriptions/73798342/ and written by Gary Heinlein and Joel Kurth, discusses a surge in overdose deaths in Michigan linked to the abuse of pain and anxiety medications (Oct. 12, 2015). One of the cases describe how a man’s addiction to painkillers was aided by a 30-day prescription for Vicodin after his wisdom teeth extraction. The article states “The state’s health department has said overdose deaths linked to opioids were increasing at a faster rate than for illegal drugs such as heroin — also on the rise — and cocaine. A state report also noted that … Read more