Wisdom Teeth

Low-Dose Naltrexone as An Alternative to Opioids for Wisdom Teeth Removal

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Before on this site numerous posts have discussed how many feel dentists and oral surgeons prescribe (or in the past have prescribed) too many opioids for their patients to help manage pain of dental procedures like wisdom teeth removal, see for example the post Do Oral Surgeons Give Too Many Opioids for Wisdom Teeth Removal?. In recent years there have been investigations into alternatives to opioids for dental procedures and also for chronic pain management when opioids in the past were more regularly prescribed for as well. One such approach is to prescribe a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen as discussed in the articles New Research Being Conducted at Rutgers for Opioid Alternatives Could Lead to Less Potential Drug Abuse for those Having Wisdom Teeth Surgery and Reducing Opioids in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Recently, there have been articles and … Read more

Turning Wisdom Teeth into Gold Necklaces

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Nicola Peltz is an American actress known for her roles in the A&E TV drama series Bates Motel and in the movie Transformers: Age of Extinction. She is engaged to Brooklyn Beckham who is the son of English former football (soccer) player David Beckham and English fashion designer Victoria Beckham who by many is best known as the singer Posh Spice in the group Spice Girls. Earlier in 2021, both Nicola and Brooklyn had their extracted wisdom teeth encased in a gold mold and made into a matching necklaces. This was shared by Nicola Petlz on her Instagram. In a March 25, 2021, Intagram story, Nicola wrote, “I got our wisdom teeth made into necklaces @brooklynbeckham you’re my best friend.” On the same day Brooklyn wrote on his Instgram in an Instagram story, “The best gift from my best friend and the … Read more

Woman Shocked after Learning Surgeon who Removed Wisdom Teeth does not like Taylor Swift

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Recently, a young woman received viral attention through some TikTok videos she shared about her wisdom teeth surgery. The woman is a big fan of the singer Taylor Swift and was shocked when she found out right after having her wisdom teeth extracted that her oral surgeon does not like Taylor’s music. That text that overlays the video that has since gathered over 3.5 Million views says “me still defending taylor swift w/ my life after getting my wisdom teeth out.” In the video that was shared the young woman is sitting in a dental chair with a wrap around her jaw and appears to be under the affects of anesthesia. She asks her oral surgeon if he played any Taylor Swift during the surgery. The surgeon says “Absolutely not.” A look of horror than appears to cross the woman’s … Read more

Sending Your Extracted Wisdom Teeth into Outer Space

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Many patients who are having wisdom teeth extracted have heard of the option to pay a company to store their wisdom teeth after it has been extracted. This has been covered on this site before such as in the post Storing Wisdom Teeth Stem Cells. The idea is that one day in the future it may be possible to harvest the stem cells in these stored wisdom teeth to help heal damage cells in your body. Some may find this idea futuristic. However, recently a someone has sent their wisdom tooth into space. In an article appearing in the Los Angeles Times titled “Why artist and engineer Xin Liu sent her wisdom tooth into outer space” written by Deborah Vankin (October 28, 2021) a discussion is made of Xin Lui who “ “…packed up her wisdom tooth and sent it … Read more

Science Shows Why Wisdom Teeth Take So Long to Emerge

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An interesting article titled “A biomechanical perspective on molar emergence and primate life history” by H. Glowacka and G. Schwartz appears in the October 2021 edition of Science Advances (Vol. 7, Issue 41). The article looks into why it takes 18 years or more before humans start to have wisdom teeth emerge and fully develop. Compared to other primates, the third molars (wisdom teeth) come later. In the study the authors state: “Our results support the idea that the biomechanical constraint on masticatory form in adult primates operates throughout the duration of craniofacial growth. This constraint regulates where molars can emerge safely into functional occlusion, which, when viewed within the mechanical context of overall orofacial growth, modulates the timing of when molars emerge.” What this means is that our wisdom teeth are just not able to finish growing until our jaws become large … Read more