wisdom teeth removal

Preventing Lingual Nerve Damage After Wisdom Teeth Extraction

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An interesting article titled “Prevention of Lingual Nerve Injury in Third Molar Surgery: Literature Review” written by Pippi et al. appears in the 2017 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 75, pp. 890-900). The article discusses attempting to identify any factors that could influence if a patient suffers lingual nerve damage after wisdom teeth removal. In the study the authors reviewed previous literature published up until February 2016 that pertained to lingual nerve injuries after wisdom teeth surgery. From the literature review the authors analyzed three different surgical techniques used for wisdom teeth removal: 1) buccal approach, 2) lingual split technique, and 3) buccal approach plus lingual flap retraction in order to determine if their were any differences on lingual nerve injuries. The authors also evaluated the association between nerve damage and tooth sectioning or ostectomy. … Read more

Using Cannabinoids After Wisdom Teeth Extraction

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An interesting article titled “Postoperative Healing Assessment Using Cannabinoids in Oral Surgery” written by Puisys et al. appears in EC Dental Science (18.4, pp. 569-575, 2019). The article seeks to compare the healing after wisdom teeth extraction between using antibiotics or cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are chemical compounds that occur in the resin of the Cannabis sativa plant also known as marijuana.  In the study 60 patients had lower wisdom teeth extracted in Vilnius, Lithuania. The 60 patients were split into two groups with one group receiving the antibiotic amoxicillin (500 mg) three times daily for seven days and the other group receiving phytocannabinoids-cannabidiol in gel form for 7 days. All 60 patients went to the clinic daily for a week to record their satisfaction with the healing process and for the doctor to assess the healing. Specifically the patients answered a … Read more

Is there a Difference in Complications following Wisdom Teeth Removal when using Local Anesthesia versus General Anesthesia?

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An interesting article titled “Retrospective multivariable comparison for complications of third molar surgery performed under general versus local anaesthesia” written by Beteramia et al. appears in Oral Surgery in 2019 (vol. 12, pp. 96-103). The article seeks to explore if there is a difference in the amount of complications that occur during or after wisdom teeth surgery when using local anesthesia or when using general anesthesia. In the article the authors discuss complications that can happen during wisdom teeth removal including excessive bleeding, injury to the inferior alveolar and lingual nerves, damage to the adjacent second molar, alveolar bone fracture, and displacement of tooth fragments into fascial spaces and complications that can happen after wisdom teeth removal including alveolar osteitis (dry socket), a secondary infection, and hemorrhage. These complications are discussed more over at http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. The authors further discuss how … Read more

Reasons to Avoid Amoxicillin For Healthy Patients in Conjunction with Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Dental Care Professionals Should Avoid the Administration of Amoxicillin in Healthy Patients During Third Molar Surgery: Is Antibiotic Resistence the Only Problem?” appears in the 2016 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 74, pp.1512-1513) written by Aragon-Martinez et al. The article discusses some of the reasons why antibiotics such as amoxicillin should not be given to healthy patients having wisdom teeth extracted. The topic of whether or not to have antiobitics before or after wisdom teeth surgery has been discussed on this site before, see for example 1) Antibiotics for Dental Use Contributing to SuperBugs 2) Patient’s Perception of Antibiotic Need After Teeth Removal, and 3) The Effect of a Single Dose of Antibiotics Prior to Wisdom Teeth Surgery. In the article by Aragon-Martinez it is discussed how amoxicillin dosages for wisdom … Read more

Ozone Therapy for Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Does Topical Ozone Therapy Improve Patient Comfort After Surgical Removal of Impacted Mandibular Third Molar? A Randomized Controlled Trial” appears in the 2017 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 75 no. 51.pp. e1-51.e9) written by Sivalingam et al. The article explores using topical ozone for patients after wisdom teeth surgery. In the article a discussion is made of how medical grade ozone has been used to help with surgical treatment and with several diseases such as infections and burns. The author devised a study to see if topical ozone therapy improves patient comfort after wisdom teeth removal when compared to systemic antibiotics. The authors sought to explore if ozone gel was able to decrease postoperative pain, swelling, and mouth opening after wisdom teeth surgery. The authors set up a split-mouth study where … Read more