wisdom teeth removal

Practice Approaches of British Oral Surgeons for Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Current practice in mandibular third molar surgery. A national survey of British Association of Oral Surgeons membership,” written by Devine et al. appears in Oral Surgery in 2017 (vol. 10, pp. 11-19). The article discuss the current practices among member of the British Association of Oral Surgeons (BAOS) for wisdom teeth surgery. The authors conducted a survey of members of the British Association of Oral Surgeons from March to June 2015 where 250 of the 520 total members (48.1%) responded. The most common grade of the respondents was specialty dentist (25.2%), primary care oral surgeon (18.4%), associate specialist (18.0%) and oral surgery consultant (13.4%). About 17% of those who responded said that wisdom teeth removal comprises 75% of their workload and about 36% of those who responded said that wisdom teeth removal comprises between 50 and … Read more

How often do Deep Fascial Space Infections Occur After Wisdom Teeth Extraction?

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An interesting article titled “Incidence of deep fascial space infections following lower third molar removal” written by O’Connor et al. appears in the 2018 edition of Oral Surgery (vol. 11, pp. 17-21). The article seeks to explore how many infections of the deep fascial spaces occur after wisdom teeth removal. The authors say that while an infection is commonly disclosed as a complication following wisdom teeth surgery many patients may not be familiar with the fact that when an infection occurs they may have to be hospitalized, given intravenous antibiotics, and require surgery under general anesthesia which could lead to scarring. These systemic infections can involve deep fascial spaces of the neck, which can lead to endotracheal airway protection, systemic sepsis, and death. In the article a study is conducted using 723 patients who had lower wisdom teeth extracted in … Read more

Do You Need to Extract Wisdom Teeth Before Getting Invisalign?

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More and more people now are choosing Invisalign over braces when it comes to straightening their teeth. Why not? No one can tell that you are fixing your teeth with its clear plastic structure because it’s almost invisible.  Aside from being a highly effective remedy for teeth straightening, it also corrects crowded teeth, irregular spacing, open bite, underbite, and overbites. One of its advantages is closing the gaps the fastest way, as you keep the same lifestyle. Plus, it proves to be the most hygienic solution because you can remove it when you eat. It’s also easy to clean, remove and put back again.  The Challenge? One of the challenges, however, is that a lot of people are getting Invisalign while they are teenagers – just before wisdom teeth start sprouting out of their gums.  Thus, the question of whether … Read more

Quality of Life Following Injury to the Inferior Alveolar Nerve or Lingual Nerve During Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Quality of life following injury to the inferior dental or lingual nerve – a cross-sectional mixed-methods study” written by Patel et al. appears in the 2018 edition of Oral Surgery (vol. 11, pp. 9-16). The article seeks to explore the impact of nerve damage that occurred during wisdom teeth removal on a persons quality of life. In the article the authors discuss how the most common reason for injury to either the inferior alveolar nerve or lingual nerve is wisdom teeth removal. Even so these types of injuries can also occur during other types of procedures such as anesthetic block injection and dental implant placement. There are different management options to deal with the nerve injury such as counselling, topical and systemic analgesia, or surgical intervention. Nerve injuries can result in altered sensation and/or pain and … Read more

Piezoelectric Handpiece versus Standard Handpiece for Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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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