wisdom teeth removal

Factors that Influence Opioid Prescribing After Teeth Removal

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An interesting article titled “Factors influencing opioid prescribing after tooth extraction,” appears in the  Journal of the American Dental Association written by Douglas R. Oyler and et al. (published June 9, 2022). The article seeks to look at specific characteristics that infuence opioid prescribing after tooth extractions to help potentially lead to less opioid that are uncessarily prescibed. The subect of opioids and wisdom teeth extractions has been covered on this site frequently before, see for example the posts, Record Numbers Predicted to Die from Opioids in the US and Dentists Overprescribing Opioids to Adults in the U.S.. Patients in the U.S. are often first exposed to an opioid prescription from a dentist or dental care provider. Even so nowadays many dentists recommend nonopioid analgesics as the first option against pain reflief. In the article the authors reviewed records from … Read more

Shared Medical Appointments for Wisdom Teeth Informed Consent

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In the past informed consent for wisdom teeth surgery has been discussed on this site, see for example the post Informed Consent in Dentistry: Can Change Impact Personal Injury Cases? Often when it comes to have wisdom teeth surgery patients are shown a video discussing risks and benefits and treatment options related to wisdom teeth, then have an opportunity to discuss with their surgeon and ask any questions, and then sign a document acknowledging that they understand the risks and benefits. Such interaction typically places in a one on one setting with just the patient and the doctor. The patient is of course then billed for this appointment and must either pay out of pocket or pay what is remaining from their insurance plan and after meeting any insurance plan deductibles. There are some ways to possibly decrease the cost … Read more

Incorrect Tooth Extraction Protocol

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An interesting article titled “Incorrect tooth extraction – Never say never?” written by McKernon et al. appears in Oral Surgery in 2017 (vol. 10, pp. 30-35). The article discusses development of a protocol for dealing with cases of extracting the wrong tooth. Extracting the wrong wisdom tooth is a possible complication of removal and has occurred before, see http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. In the article the authors discuss how checklists are now used during surgery in an attempt to decrease medical errors. Even with these checklists reports of wrong tooth extraction still occur. The authors state that cases of wrong tooth extraction occur about once a week among all dentists in the U.K. The most common reasons for extracting the wrong tooth include cognitive failure and miscommunication. The authors state “We suggest…as human error can never be completely eradicated, a protocol must be … Read more

Rare abscess in chewing muscle after wisdom tooth extraction

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An interesting article titled “A Rare Infratemporal Fossa Abscess of the Lateral Pterygoid” appears in Cureus written by B.S. Daines, R. Varman, and J. Cordero (May 27, 2022, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. e25391). The article discusses how a 26 year old man developed an infratemporal fossa abscess in the lateral pterygoid, a masticatory muscle used for chewing, after having a wisdom tooth extraction. The article discusses how the 26 year old man developed facial swelling after having two upper wisdom teeth extracted. He presented with facial swelling on his left side which was accompanied by constant and dull pain localized to the left face with radiation to the left temple and made worse when he opened his jaw. The man also had a low grade fever and his symptoms persisted even with taking oral amoxicillin for one week and … Read more

Man with infected wisdom tooth dies several weeks later

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In early 2021, a man 44 years of age living in Auckland in New Zealand, died a few weeks after being aware of having an infected wisdom tooth. He first complained of having pain in his lower right wisdom tooth on Christmas Eve in 2020. He went to see a doctor about it several times over many days for swelling and pain and was given antibiotics. He was unable to swallow the pills so was given liquid antibiotics instead but nothing seemed to help with the infection. Later the pain and swelling in his face and neck became progressively worse. He went to the hospital on January 4, 2021. While in the hospital he had x-rays taken and was later discharged. The family was shocked to hear that the man was able to get discharged that soon. He was sent … Read more