Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom Teeth Extractions in Australians: Findings from a 2013 Telephone Survey

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An interesting article titled “Third molor extractions among Australian adults: findings from the 2013 National Dental Telephone Interview Survey,” written by Hanna et al. appears in the International Dental Journal (vol. 68, pp. 77-83, 2018). The article sought to answer several questions regarding wisdom teeth removal in Australians: whether: 1.) having dental insurance is associated with a higher number of wisdom teeth extractions; 2.) if receiving single versus multiple wisdom tooth extractions is associated with self-rated oral health in the short term; and 3.) if receiving wisdom teeth extractions for those aged 18 to 25 years is associated with fewer number of days absent from work/school because of dental problems than those older than 25 years. The reason the authors explored item (2) identified above was because they believed those who received multiple extractions in a short time window might … Read more

Do Wisdom Teeth Contribute to Systemic Inflammation?

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An interesting article appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery titled “Do Third Molars Contribute to Systemic Inflammation? Results From a Population-Based Study From Northeast Germany,” written by Kindler et al. The article investigates whether having wisdom teeth present plays a role on serum levels of inflammatory parameters and inflammatory messenger peptide hormones. In the article the authors used a study population of 2,333 patients from the northeastern region of Germany (Study of Health in Pomerania- SHIP 2) and also a different cohort of 4,420 patients from the same the region of Germany (SHIP-Trend). The authors pooled the data into 6,753 patients and found 2,484 of these patients had data on wisdom teeth. From the 2,484 patients only 2,151 patients had data on at least one inflammatory marker. The authors found that impacted wisdom … Read more

Why Do Some People have a Fourth Molar?

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In the past an article titled What to Do about the Fourth Molar: Similar Management Strategies as the Third Molar aka Wisdom Tooth? discussed the fourth molar which is an additional tooth beyond the wisdom tooth or third molar that some people have. In this article some images of the fourth molar were provided along with some discussion of management strategies. However, no real discussion was made surrounding some of the theories regarding the fourth molar. In an article titled “Presence of the fourth molar. Literature review” by Vázquez Mosquerira et al. appearing in Revista Odontológica Mexicana, (vol. 22, no. 2 April-June 2018, pp. 103-117) some discussion is made surrounding some of the theories of the existence of the fourth molar along with many X-rays of fourth molars. In the article the authors call fourth molars, distomolars. The authors seem … Read more

Differences Among Classifying Wisdom Teeth using Panoramic X-rays and Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

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An interesting article titled “Is Panoramic Imaging Equivalent to Cone-Beam Computed Tomography for Classifying Impacted Lower Third Molars?” appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery written by Brasil et al. The article explorers if panoramic radiography is able to give similar results as cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for the degree of lower wisdom teeth impaction and when using panoramic radiography if the external oblique ridge is a reliable indicator for the degree of lower wisdom teeth impaction. In the article the authors discuss the Pell and Gregory classification which is used to classify the position of a wisdom tooth and can be used to potentially assess the risks of various complications. The authors state how wisdom teeth are usually evaluated using panoramic x-rays but this technique is susceptible to image overlap, magnification, and distortion, … Read more

Reducing Opioids in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Opioid Prescribing Can Be Reduced in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Practice,” written by Tatch appears in the 2019 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. In the article the author discusses the results of implementing an office protocol for pain management to reduce opioid use in oral and maxillofacial surgery during a three year time period. Results from a similar study were presented previously in a post titled Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Current Perspectives on Opioid Prescribing. In the article the author discusses how a risk of opioids is dependence which can develop after just one week of using. The author came up with a 3-year retrospective study to measure changes in opioid use after the introduction of an office protocol which was designed to offer alternatives to pain relief. In the study a … Read more