Posts Tagged ‘ Extractions ’

Dental Implants: Surgical & Prosthetic Perspective

If an implant is not placed in the right position or with the correct angulations, then the prosthesis will be compromised. Although this may seem like an obvious statement, it brings to light that an implant must be guided by the position of the final prosthesis. Any other method leaves room for complications and the […]

Third Molar Site Grafting

I recently attended a symposium on alveolar grafting and ridge preservation. One of the speakers, Thomas B. Dodson, DMD, presented an interesting paper dealing with the effects of mandibular third molar (M3) removal on the periodontal health of the adjacent second molar (M2). He also addressed weather additional surgical procedures at the time of removal […]

The Use of Platlet Rich Plasma in Oral Surgery

For many years, clinicians in various specialties of dentistry and medicine have been searching for materials that can accelerate and enhance bone and soft tissue healing, especially that of bone and soft tissue grafts. While bone morphogenic protein appeared to be a promising alternative for the enhancement and promotion of bone grafts and bone growth, […]

Implant Site Preservation

Since the introduction of dental implants into North America in the early 1980’s, we have witnessed an evolution in how implants are used to replace missing teeth. At the outset, implants were seen as a means to provide support to overdentures for edentulous patients. Subsequently, implants began being considered for single tooth replacement and even […]

The Current State of Laser Treatment for Chronic Periodontitis

The use of lasers in periodontal practice has become a desirable alternative to traditional scalpel surgery; however, a deficiency in published evidence supporting the efficacy of such treatment exists. A recent review by Cobb, Low, and Coluzzi (2010) presents the current peer-reviewed evidence on the use of the most commonly used dental lasers over the […]

The Management of Pre and Post Operative Pain

As dentists we are commonly faced with fearful patients. They anticipate and expect a painful experience during or after their treatment. They tend to procrastinate to the point where they are presenting with pain and a high level of anxiety, only perpetuating their status. These situations are a challenge to the practioner. It is important […]

Tobacco and Dental Implants

Tobacco has been long recognized as a significant health hazard. Cigarette smoking, in particular, has been implicated with several cancers including: oral lung and bladder. Additionally, smokers have a much higher incidence of: hypertension>/li> coronary artery disease pulmonary infections and emphysema. In fact, children that live in smokers’ households have a 8 times greater incidence […]

Implant Myths Versus Facts

Over the past twenty years, dental implants have become a standard of care for the replacement of missing teeth. Still, it seems clear that there is reluctance on the part of some clinicians and patients to provide and receive implant treatment. This reluctance on the part of clinicians to provide the treatment and on the […]

The Benefits of Intravenous Anesthesia

Until the advent of local anesthetics, surgery was a very traumatic and painful experience. The very best surgeons were by no means the gentlest; they were the fastest. General “ether” anesthetics helped alleviate pain, but were very dangerous to administer and unpredictable in the dosing. The advent of local anesthetics truly revolutionized in-the-office surgery, particularly […]

Presence of Asymptomatic Wisdom Teeth and Systemic Disease

All dentists are aware that the presence of pericoronitis around third molar teeth can progress to serious and even life threatening infections, and most would agree that tooth removal is necessary to solve such a problem. It is less obvious, however, that asymptomatic third molars may pose potential infection risks to patients. In 2007, the […]