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

Unique Complications after Wisdom Teeth Removal: Case Reports

Complications can occur after having wisdom teeth surgery, see http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. Some of these complications are pretty rare and unusual. Recently in Oral Surgery several case reports have been reported describing some rare complications after wisdom teeth surgery. In the article titled “Spread of infection to skull base via infratemporal fossa after dental extraction related to the use of a high-speed hand piece: a case report” by Moore et al. appearing in Oral Surgery in 2018 (vol. 11, pp. 121-124) discussion is made of a 36 year old woman who had a lower right wisdom tooth removed. The woman developed a deep fascial infection that required formal exploration and drainage. The authors speculate that the woman experienced swelling and infection because of the use of an air driven high-speed hand piece used in the extraction. Forced air from the hand piece … 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

What Movies to Watch After Wisdom Teeth Removal?

After having wisdom teeth extracted there is some downtime while everything heals and the recovery process occurs. Perhaps you are used to a more active lifestyle and are not used to having to just sit around for several days without any strenuous activity. If this is the case you might be looking for a few movies to watch to keep you occupied. The following describes some steps to take to locate those movies to watch that perhaps you may enjoy.  First, you may want to consider what genre movie you are interested. Different people have different tastes. Genres to consider include Action, Adventure, Animation, Biography, Comedy, Crime, Documentary, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Film Noir, History , Horror, Music, Musical, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Short, Sport, Superhero, Thriller, War, Western. After considering different genre options this may give you an idea of what you … Read more