Inferior Alveolar Nerve Injury

Prognosis:

Recovery is favorable since the nerve is protected within a bony canal and is therefore not subject to mobility. This is not the case with the lingual nerve.

Paresthesia which lasts over 8 weeks after the initial injury has a higher chance of becoming permanent.

The Menacing Mathematics of Multiple Meds

By Gary Craig

There's something scary about drugs that concerns a growing number of physicians and should wobble the knees of every patient on the planet. It's obvious to any mathematician but somehow has escaped the general scrutiny of the health industry.

It has to do with combining meds.

Ever since I can remember I have been fed the perception that drugs are governmentally evaluated and thus are safe if taken under the guidance of competent physicians. However, even if we accept the presumed safety for the ingestion of one drug, we must ask ourselves how might that safety change if we take multiple drugs?

For safety assurances, proper testing should be done for every drug combination we are advised to take. If we take Prozac and Tylenol, for example, we should be presented with all the possible benefits and consequences before allowing these two foreign substances to mix with the chemicals our bodies already create. Same thing goes for combining Paxil with Viagra or Interferon with Lipitor.

The list of possible problems here is monstrously long because there are a b'zillion drugs and mega b'zillions of combinations. Nonetheless, I've never seen or heard of any studies that test any of these combinations ... have you?

Thus, if you take two drugs, the odds of their combination having been adequately tested for safety are skimpy at best. But if you take 3 or more drugs the danger possibilities multiply even faster.

Here's how the mathematics work: If you take 3 drugs then adequate safety testing of the various combinations require 7 separate tests. If you take 4 drugs the combinations require 25 separate tests. If you take 5 drugs it amounts to 121 tests. If you take 10 drugs the number of required safety tests total 362,881.

The conclusion here should be obvious. Namely, there is questionable safety testing if you take 2 drugs and nominal, if any, safety testing if you take 3. Beyond that you are clearly into the land of, "I have no idea what these combinations of drugs will do."

To me, this tosses our dedicated docs into a tenuous position. They have patients with problems who aren't willing to exercise, eat right, do EFT for emotional issues or much of anything else to help their own health. Instead, the patients hope the physicians will produce a magic pill (or pills) to make their problems go away.

I have met many patients who are on several drugs and take some drugs to counteract the effects of other drugs. As a non-physician I look at this with a shudder. These folks are being fed chemical cocktails with little or no safety testing behind the combinations. Maybe I need some help with my perceptions here but, to me, they are playing drug roulette.

I don't know if lawyers have picked up on the simple, but compelling, math here. But I do know that I wouldn't want to be a doctor in court facing these clear facts.

In the 15+ years I have been involved in the health field, I have had the good fortune to count many physicians as my personal friends. With few exceptions, they agree that it is our lifestyles, diets and emotional stresses that cause most of our health problems ... and ... the vast majority of these problems would vanish if people would live common sense lives. Yet patients repeatedly abuse their bodies and ask for more and more "miracle drugs" as the convenient solution. I don't envy the docs at all as I often hear them complain that this is a highway to NobodyWinsVille.

Maybe what we really need are good salespeople to persuade folks to take care of themselves. I suspect that, if truly persuasive, they would do more good than the ocean of drugs at our disposal.

Love, Gary

PS: The Free EFT Get Started Package can help any newcomer learn the valuable EFT process. If you want to save time and dive right in, get our low cost DVD Library.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Wisdom Teeth , also referred as the third set of molars, are the last set of teeth in the mouth to grow, which normally happens around the ages of 17 - 25. There have been a lot of controversies and myths on wisdom teeth and their extraction. If the teeth do not cause any harm or pain, they are normally fine to stay in place. If they present a bad position or cause you a lot of pain or discomfort, they will need to be removed.

The major danger with wisdom teeth is they have the risk of becoming impacted and need to be extracted. Sometimes they can be pulled, although in most cases they need to be chipped out by a qualified surgeon. When the time comes to have your wisdom teeth extracted, you will need to go to an oral surgeon and have a consultation first.

The consultation generally involved taking a sets of x-rays that will let the surgeon know about the severity your wisdom teeth are. He will reviews the results with you, take a look in your mouth, then tell you what options you have. If he is going to pull or cut out your teeth, you will have the option of using local anaesthesia or going with intravenous sedation. An IV sedation is the preferred way to have wisdom teeth extracted, as you will be so relaxed you will not know what is going on. If you decide to just use local anaesthesia, which is numbing, you will be fully aware of the procedure. You will also hear the popping and cracking involved, which can make you feel quite uncomfortable.

The ease of the extraction process is guided by the shape, size, and the formation of the wisdom teeth. If the root tips have managed to wrap themselves around the bone, the removal process can be very time consuming and quite painful. Once the extractions have been completed, there is normally little to no swelling involved. Your dentist will prescribe you some pain medicine, which you should use as soon as you arrive home. If you are going to use IV sedation, you will need to someone to accompany you, as you will not be able to drive home.

Once the removal of your wisdom teeth is done, your dentist will advise you on what you need to do to ensure the proper healing of your gums and mouth. Normally, he will give you information to go over, to make sure that you experience no problems in the healing process. Someone will need to be with you for the first 24 hours, to make sure that you ok. You will not be able to eat certain foods for the first 48 hours, which is to be expected. Once you get your wisdom teeth removed through - you will notice a big improvement in your mouth - and your health.

Author Resource:- Sam Kern has also published a number articles on Cosmetic Dentistry. Recently published article : Restorative dentistry.

Article From Article Friendly

I had a flash back today. I was telling a friend how I did not like to be put under general anesthesia, and I remembered my surgery from almost a year ago. As I sat there in the waiting room, trying to read while my pre-surgery valium was kicking in, I had no idea what was in store for me.

The most unsettling part was post-surgery upon realizing that the numbness in my lips and gums was not going to wear off. I tried everything I could think of to "wake it up." When I bit down hard on my lip, I could only feel just the slightest bit of pressure. The left side of my tongue was also numb. Not good.

I researched this strange numbness and soon realized that I was actually one of the lucky ones. Many people suffer from nerve injuries that cause them debilitating pain. My heart goes out to all of them. I actually felt selfish for obsessing over the fact that I had to constantly wipe my chin when I ate, not knowing if I was dribbling food or water.

I came to welcome the tingling, or electrical feeling in my lips and chin. These were positive signs that my nerves were trying hard to reconnect. Sometimes, I experienced shooting pains.
NerveFix
offered incredible relief with these bothersome symptoms.

Yes, I recovered 100% from my nerve injury. I have complete sensation in my tongue, chin, lips and gums. And it no longer feels as if there is a vice grip on my lower teeth.

I am not sure what percentage of people recover fully, but I have been told that the vast majority of IAN damage sufferers do recover. If the nerve has been severed, surgery is recommended to reconnect it, however, in most cases, the nerve is simply bruised.

A publication from the University of Barcelona concluded that most patients recovered within 6 months. Age was found to be the largest risk factor.

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2005 Mar;99(3):259-64.
Incidence and evolution of inferior alveolar nerve lesions following lower third molar extraction.
Queral-Godoy E, Valmaseda-Castellon E, Berini-Aytes L, Gay-Escoda C.

School of Dentistry of the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

OBJECTIVES: To calculate the incidence of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) damage due to lower third molar extraction and to describe the evolution of IAN sensitivity and the prognosis of IAN damage based on preoperative data. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study of 4995 lower third molar extractions in 3513 outpatients. RESULTS: Fifty-five extractions (1.1%) resulted in IAN impairment. Cox regression analysis showed age to be a risk factor for the persistence of IAN injury due to lower third molar extraction. The sensation recovery rate was higher in the first 3 months. Fifty percent of the patients showed full recovery after 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Most cases of IAN impairment following lower third molar extraction recover within 6 months, though in some cases recovery takes more than 1 year. Older patients are at an increased risk of incomplete recovery of chin and lip sensibility after third molar extraction.

PMID: 15716829 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Wisdom Teeth - Should You Have Them Removed?

When the words 'wisdom teeth' are mentioned, the most common thought is about having them removed. Why is this? Wisdom teeth are also referred to as third molars. This set of molars will start to come through in late adolesence or early adulthood, if they develop at all. As humans have evolved, there is less room in the mouth for these teeth to come in normally, although there are people who are able to keep them. You may not even know you have wisdom teeth developing until a dental visit shows them on an x-ray.

For those who do not have the room for the teeth to come in properly, they either come through the skin partially, or grow in sideways - this is called impaction. You may or may not feel pain from impaction; it depends on how the tooth is coming in. Sideways growing teeth can push on your other permanent molars and cause quite a bit of pain. Another common issue is infection or abscesses. Sometimes, only one or two teeth may come in, with the tooth then coming in direct contact with the opposite gum. This is why most dentists will recommend that you have your wisdom teeth removed, even if you aren't having any complications with them currently.

The best time for removal is in your late teens or early twenties. The older you get, the more difficult the wisdom teeth become to remove. This is due to the roots of the teeth hardening as the teeth mature, making removal more difficult with more complications likely. Some of these complications can include permanent nerve damage and problems during the healing process (dry socket). Dry socket is where the healing starts normally, then a blood clot does not form. This leads to a lot of pain, which can encompass the entire side of your face. Your dentist can give you the best advice on a recovery program to avoid healing complications.

Wisdom tooth removal is more than a simple tooth pull, especially when the teeth are impacted. The procedure is often done under general anesthesia. The gum is opened up and the tooth is removed in sections. Sometimes bone will have to be removed as well, depending on the severity of the problem.

Recovery will take several days to a week, depending on any complications or your age at the time of removal. Expect to feel pain in the extraction area and you will likely be prescribed pain medication. You will also experience significant facial swelling. This will make it difficult to open your mouth completely, so eating and speaking will be hindered for several days. A liquid or soft food diet is recommended for about 7 days, then you will be able to introduce other foods as the healing progresses. Stitches will be required and your dentist may opt for either those that need removal, or dissolving stitches.

At your next dental appointment for you or your teenagers, ask to have an x-ray done to see if there are wisdom teeth coming in. Then you can discuss with your dentist the best treatment options for you or your children. Remember, the earlier the removal, the faster the recovery and the lower the risk of complications.

Michael Russell Your Independent Dental guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

In honor and memory of Niurka Davila, age 47.

Place killed: World Trade Center, September 11, 2001.

Resident of New York, N.Y. (USA).