Wisdom teeth extraction is a complicated oral surgery procedure. Many people fear the surgery and the time-consuming recovery process. What if you could avoid the complicated process altogether by eliminating your wisdom teen as a child?
Researchers at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine have found that a significant number of children between the ages of 2 and 6 that received injections of local dental anesthesia never developed wisdom teeth. Based on this epidemiological research, the researchers hypothesize that the local dental anesthesia is responsible for the interruption of lower wisdom teeth growth.
Dr. Anthony R. Silvestry, DMD who is a clinical professor of the Department of Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine said, “It is intriguing to think that something as routine as local anesthesia could stop wisdom teeth from developing. This is the first study in humans showing an association between a routinely administered, minimally-invasive clinical procedure and arrested third molar growth.”
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Third molars, also known as wisdom teeth, begin to grow as four small tooth buds during the time a child is between the ages of 2 and 6. Specifically, on the lower jaw, the tooth buds are very close in proximity to the spot where dentists insert dental anesthesia injections. The needle is capable of disrupting wisdom teeth growth by penetrating the growing tooth buds and ultimately, stop it from growing.
Although this hypothesized theory needs further study before it becomes practiced, these new studies shed light on a possible preventative approach when it comes to wisdom teeth rather than a technique strictly involving oral surgery.
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Sources:
http://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/dental-anesthesia-may-interrupt-development-w
Image credit: http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/no-wisdom-teeth-1.jpg
