Procedures
Wisdom Teeth Bend OR
By the age of eighteen, the average adult has 32 teeth; 16 teeth on the top and 16 teeth on the bottom. Each tooth in the mouth has a specific name and function. The teeth in the front of the mouth (incisors, canine and bicuspid teeth) are ideal for grasping and biting food into smaller pieces. The back teeth or molars are used to grind food up into a consistency suitable for swallowing. The average mouth is made to hold only 28 teeth. It can be painful when 32 teeth try to fit in a mouth that holds only 28 teeth. These four other teeth are your Third Molars, also known as "wisdom teeth."
Why Should I Remove My Wisdom Teeth?
Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to erupt within the mouth. When they align properly and gum tissue is healthy, wisdom teeth do not have to be removed. Unfortunately, this does not generally happen. The extraction of wisdom teeth is necessary when they are prevented from properly erupting within the mouth. They may grow sideways, partially emerge from the gum and even remain trapped beneath the gum and bone. Impacted teeth can take many positions in the bone as they attempt to find a pathway that will allow them to erupt successfully.
These poorly positioned impacted teeth can cause many problems. When they are partially erupted, the opening around the tooth allows bacteria to grow and will eventually cause an infection. The result: swelling, stiffness, pain and illness. The pressure from the erupting wisdom tooth may move other teeth and disrupt the orthodontic or natural alignment of teeth. The most serious problem occurs when tumors or cysts form around the impacted wisdom tooth, resulting in the destruction of the jawbone and healthy teeth. Removal of the offending impacted tooth or teeth usually resolves these problems. Early removal is recommended to avoid such future problems and to decrease the surgical risk involved with the procedure.
Oral Examination
With an oral examination and x-rays of the mouth at our office in Bend OR, Dr. Krueger can evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth and predict if there may be present or future problems. Studies have shown that early evaluation and treatment result in a superior outcome for the patient. Patients are generally first evaluated in the mid- teenage years by their dentist, orthodontist or by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Removal
In most cases, the removal of wisdom teeth is performed under general anesthesia, nitrous oxide or local anesthesia. These options as well as the surgical risks (i.e. sensory nerve damage, sinus complications) will be discussed with you before the procedure is performed. Antibiotics and pain medication will be provided at the time of the initial exam and all pre-operative instructions will be reviewed. After the initial exam, you will be back for the surgery. The surgery usually last around an hour to an hour and a half. Upon discharge, your post-operative kit will include postoperative instructions and all necessary items for your aftercare. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us at 541-617-3993 .
Our services are provided in an environment of optimum safety that utilizes modern monitoring equipment and staff that are experienced in anesthesia techniques.
Stem Cells
The restorative properties of stem cells:
Stem cells are unique because they drive the natural healing process throughout your life. Stem cells are different from other cells in the body because they regenerate and produce specialized cell types. They heal and restore skin, bones, cartilage, muscles, nerves and other tissues when injured.
As a result, amazing new medical treatments are being developed to treat a range of diseases contemporary medicine currently deems difficult or impossible to treat. Among them are:
Parkinson's Disease
Brain Injuries
Heart Disease
Diabetes
Arthritis
Muscular Dystrophy
Leukemia
Crohn's Disease
Multiple Sclerosis
Periodontal Disease
Sports Injuries
Cosmetic and Anti-aging Applications
While stem cells can be found in most tissues of the body, they are usually buried deep, are few in number and are similar in appearance to surrounding cells. With the discovery of stem cells in teeth, an accessible and available source of stem cells has been identified.
The tooth is nature's "safe" for these valuable stem cells, and there is an abundance of these cells in baby teeth, wisdom teeth and permanent teeth. The stem cells contained within teeth are capable of replicating themselves and can be readily recovered at the time of a planned dental procedure. Living stem cells found within extracted teeth were routinely discarded every day, but now, with the knowledge from recent medical research, your Doctor provides you the opportunity to save these cells for future use in developing medical treatments for your family.
Aside from being the most convenient stem cells to access, dental stem cells have significant medical benefits in the development of new medical therapies. Using one's own stem cells for medical treatment means a much lower risk of rejection by the body and decreases the need for powerful drugs that weaken the immune system, both of which are negative but typical realities that come into play when tissues or cells from a donor are used to treat patients.
Further, the stem cells from teeth have been observed in research studies to be among the most powerful stem cells in the human body. Stem cells from teeth replicate at a faster rate and for a longer period of time than do stem cells harvested from other tissues of the body.
Stem cells in the human body age over time and their regenerative abilities slow down later in life. The earlier in life that your family's stem cells are secured, the more valuable they will be when they are needed most.
Stem cell Recovery and Cryopreservation from teeth also has many advantages:
- Accessible – The stem cells contained within teeth are recovered at the time of a planned procedure: Extraction of wisdom teeth, baby teeth or other healthy permanent teeth.
- Affordable - when compared with other methods of acquiring and preserving life saving stem cells: Peripheral blood, Bone Marrow, Cord blood etc, recovering Stem Cells from teeth is the most affordable and least invasive.
- Convenience – the recovery of stem cells from teeth can be performed in the doctor’s office anytime when a healthy tooth is being extracted.
- Ease of Use – The recovery of stem cells from teeth does not add any additional time on to a planned procedure. Your doctor does not require any additional equipment or training.
Frequently asked questions about Stem Cell Recovery and Cryopreservation from teeth
Why should someone recover and cryopreserve their own stem cells from teeth?
Healthy dental pulp contains stem cells that are among the most powerful stem cells in the body and replicate at a faster rate and for a longer period of time than other types of stem cells.Stem cells from teeth show great promise for future regenerative medical treatments of neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease, diabetes, bone diseases and brain and nerve injuries.
Which teeth are candidates for stem cell recovery and cryopreservation?
Any extracted tooth with a healthy pulp contains stem cells. Wisdom teeth, baby teeth and other permanent teeth i.e. healthy teeth that are fractured and teeth recommended for extraction for orthodontic purposes are all candidates for stem cell recovery and cryopreservation.
At what age am I no longer eligible to recover and preserve stem cells from teeth?
Age does not seem to play a major factor. All extracted healthy teeth contain stem cells. The younger you are then the younger the cells and these may be more beneficial in future regenerative therapies.
Is one tooth enough or should I try to bank as many teeth as I can as the opportunities arise. I banked deciduous teeth, should I bank third molars?
Diseases of different severity or tissue defects of different size will undoubtedly require different amounts of stem cells to heal. Conceptually, the more teeth are banked, the greater the potential for sufficient stem cells to treat various diseases.
