Serious Saliva

One of the wonders of nature is the variety of ways in which different species develop defense mechanisms in the evolutionary battle for survival.  At least three creatures in particular have adapted the ability to attack using their saliva:  Cats, Komodo Dragons, and the NBA's Wilson Chandler. 

Cats

This is Dewey, being shown a little too much affection by my boy Sam.  Judging from the picture, you would expect Sam to be Dewey's biggest threat, right?  Surprisingly they get along fine.  You could even say they LOVE each other.  The other cats in the neighborhood, however, are not so fond of their newest rival.  A few weeks ago we heard a commotion in the front yard and the next day Dewey's front leg swelled to about 3 times it's normal size.  We learned from the veterinarian that cat bites can be quite vicious.  In fact, 80% of people who are cat-bitten will become infected!

Komodo Dragons

This animal may very well have more biodiversity in the oral cavity than any other creature out there.  It certainly has the most virulent strains of bacteria, causing immediate sepsis in bite victims.  Somehow the Komodo dragon remains unharmed from the bacteria in it's own mouth, but how it does this is still unknown. Just know that if you ever find yourself confronted by one of these bad boys, don't let it bite you.

Wilson Chandler of the New York Knicks

Recently, Wilson Chandler and David Lee found themselves fighting for a rebound when Lee extracted Chandler's tooth #8 using his elbow.  As you can see, at first glance it appears that David Lee came out ahead in the exchange:



However, a few days later David Lee was informed that his elbow was infected and the doctors were struggling to find the right antibiotics to combat the specific strain of bacteria.  (Did I ever mention that there is a greater variety of bacteria in the mouth than anywhere else in the human body?)  The situation was serious enough that he was at risk of losing his triceps and, of course, ending his career!  Lee described the ordeal to a local radio station:

This injury went from something that I thought was going to be a two-day situation to all of a sudden they were saying “we might have to cut your triceps muscle and you’re never going to play again” to “you’re fine”. It was a very scary situation, and I learned how serious infection can be.
It got to the point where they said if we can’t find the right antibiotics to counter the bacteria that you’re going to have to start getting things cut out of your arm, and you may never have the same arm to play basketball again.

Scary stuff!  You know what's also scary?  The picture of his elbow recovering from the injury.  Kids, remember to wear your mouthguards - not just for your own safety but for that of your opponent!

Kissing Catastrophe

Here's a great story to keep in mind while your cheeks are nice and rosy and you're getting comfy and cozy this holiday season!  Being a dental professional, it's no surprise that news items related to kissing show up on my radar from time to time.  A few years ago in Romania a couple was experimenting with a "special type of passionate kiss" and the woman accidentally swallowed her lover's dentures!  Also, every so often there will be a news story claiming how kissing is either good or bad for your teeth.  (Personally, I think your dental health shouldn't really be a deciding factor when deciding whether or not to kiss somebody).

However, this week's story takes the cake.  A 57 year old woman from Sheboygan (you love this story already, don't you?) had been behaving a little oddly lately, according to her 79 year old husband.  Apparently it went down like this:  Karen Lueders was sitting on the toilet when husband Willard walked in the bathroom.  Naturally, the husband leaned down for a kiss.  I mean really, she's on the toilet, who wouldn't be in the mood for a little romance, right? I know you want a little help picturing the situation, so, here's Karen:

 

So there they are, she on the potty, he standing near her, they begin their little kiss and things start heating up (of course, why wouldn't they?).  She gets a little frisky, when all of a sudden she decides to take the freaky to a whole new level and bites off his freaking tongue! 

The poor romantic fellow then found some gauze to stop the bleeding and called the police, who arrived to find Karen doing exactly what you would expect her to be doing in this situation - singing Christmas carols and blowing into a New Year's horn.  One of the officers (probably not a very romantic one) had no idea what was going on so he asked what sort of assistance was needed.  The result?  She blew the fancy horn in his ear and threw a coffee cup at the police.  

The result of this all is that Karen is currently charged with felony mayhem that has to do with intention to mutilate or disfigure.  At this point all we know about poor Willard's condition is that he was sent to the hospital with his severed tongue where doctors worked to reattach it. 

The full, sad, scary story can be found at the Sheboygan Press.

EARTOOTHACHE! Man has Tooth Removed from Ear 33 Years Later!

We've discussed some pretty bizarre things here, including a tooth intentionally lodged into an eye and various organs removed via the mouth. Well, today's story comes to us from England and involves a Stephen Hirst, a former miner (those guys are so popular right now!) who had an earache for 33 years.  Or was it a toothache? For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to call it an eartoothache.  It's like the manbearpig of orofacial pain.

The pain began around age 14.  He suffered from frequent infections, and would literally bang his head into the wall because it hurt so much.  Over the years he's had countless doctor visits but nobody was ever able to spot the tooth.  Until just recently, when a nurse cleaned his ear out with a suction tube, inserted a microscope, and simply removed the tooth with some tweezers.  Rather than totally freaking out, the calm nurse simply stood there and looked at it in disbelief.

The biggest question is, of course, HOW did his tooth get lodged in his ear canal?  Mr. Hirst recalls an accident in his youth that involved him falling between two desks at school and smashing the back of his ear against a desk.  How that would cause a primary tooth to end up in the ear is anyone's guess, but my theory is that it somehow became lodged in the opening of the Eustachian tube, causing a series of recurring episodes of inflammation which somehow moved the tooth along until it came to rest just behind the eardrum.

For the full story and pictures, visit the Daily Mail.

You Might be a Hygienist if.....

Recently, the facebook page for "Dental Hygiene" posted that as their status and left it open to the fans.  The responses were pretty entertaining, and here are some of the more popular ones, as judged by other fans:

You always carry floss in your purse and look at people's teeth when you meet them.

fulcrum when you put on lipgloss

Your back is killing you right now!

The smell of Listerine turn you on.

You get excited when calculus goes flying!!!

you know that calculus isn't math!

You smell perio while in a group of people and desperately look (sniff) around until you figure out who it is.

you laugh at the Braun Oral B commercials claiming to be dentist #1 recommended toothbrush. Ummmm.........who's with me on the Phillips Sonicare???

you watch people on the dental aisle while at the store to see which products they buy and have to resist telling them to buy something else because you think it's better

You ask a patient how many times a week they floss, as your gloves are filled with blood, only to hear 'at least 4 or 5'... And you try to keep a straight face without saying 'liarrrrr'...

When you can't help but go down the dental isle just to look.

You know what " PITA" stands for.

you can't find a job!

Just further evidence that you can't stare at teeth all day without becoming a little bit quirky.  Read all the clever responses here.

Look What I Can Pull out of my Mouth

This week we'll take a look at various things passing through various mouths.

First off, as of late I've noticed a pretty cool trend in the medical field - surgeons are using the oral cavity as an entry/exit to the abdomen in general, thus avoiding those unsightly post-op abdomen scars.  Recently at UCSD, surgeons utilized NOTES (Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery) to remove a gallbladder.  Very minute incisions were still made in the abdomen for a camera and light, but the organ was removed via the mouth.

NOTES has also been used at the UCSD medical center to perform a sleeve gastrectomy.  Basically, 80% of an obese lady's stomach was removed in order to help her feel full after eating less.  My recommendation?  Just imagine 80% of your stomach being removed through your mouth right before dinner and you'll lose your appetite without having to go through this procedure. 

Read more from the LA times and foxnews.com.

Our next story comes to us from Svalbard, which, surprisingly is NOT the name of a piece of quaint, affordable furniture from Ikea, but rather a place in Norway where Arctic explorer Sebastian Nissen recently awoke to discover his head INSIDE the mouth of a polar bear.  Gadzooks!  Either that bear was very gentle (or sneaky like a ninja) or Sebastien was a little to wasted to be off exploring the Arctic.  (Or maybe "exploring the Arctic" is just what the Norwegians call getting drunk in the wilderness).

Either way, the only insights we have into this episode are that Sebastian awoke, head in mouth, the bear then stood up, and Sebastian's friend shot the bear dead.  During the estimated 60 seconds spent inside the bear's mouth, our hero reached for his shotgun only to find that the bear had wisely snapped the weapon in half.  Again, I'm not sure if this supports the theory that the bear was a clever ninja or that Sebastian was drunk off his ÅNES.  (That actually is a piece of furniture from Ikea). 

Story from CBS.com

Lastly, here's a clip of the guy every dentist dreams about while extracting wisdom teeth or performing second-molar root canal therapy.  The guy with the flip-top head:




I could imagine this guy waking up to find his head inside of his own mouth.

Smoking Can Cause Tooth Loss

And in this case, it can cause instantaneous tooth loss. Six to be exact. Because the cigarette EXPLODED!

Although the Indonesian tobacco company apologized and compensated the victim the equivalent of $535 (that should cover six implants, right?), I personally think this is a great idea. Most smokers are aware that the habit has severe negative impacts on their health - why put it off? If one out of every 100 cigarettes randomly exploded at some point, people might reconsider lighting up.

Full story from the BBC News.

Ninjavitis

Ninjavitis, as currently defined by the urban dictionary:

1. An oral condition that causes ones breath to be so noxious that it can sneak up on unsuspecting people and be nearly fatal.

2. When the physical state of ones mouth is so repugnant that it looks like a skilled ninja has drop-kicked them squarely in the mouth.

1. I heard that John is in the hospital, cuz he went to kiss Sheila goodnight, and her ninjavitis made him go into shock.
2. god rest his soul, but ODB musta been in a fight with the RZA cause even his goldfronts had sum ninjavitis.

Personally, I think the definition should be expanded to include the very ninja-esque art of deception. For example, you see a seemingly healthy mouth, but as you go in for the kiss, BOOM, ninjavitis!

To demonstrate, this pirate mouth has been raped and pillaged by Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (that's one of the main gum-disease causing bacteria, for all you anti-dentites). It will obviously present with an odor capable of killing a small family of squirrels. If you ever snuggle up with a pirate, you deserve what you get:


Conversely, an attractive mouth, as can be found on actress Eva Mendes (recently voted best celebrity smile by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry), has the potential to deceive you in a halitosal sneak attack of epic proportions:


While the Dental Ninja has never been close enough to Eva Mendes to determine whether or not she has ninjavitis, other dentists have documented similar cases which were subsequently published in peer-reviewed, scientific journals such as this one: (click to enlarge)

(see evil-comic.com for more)

Be on the lookout for Ninjavitis, and if you happen see any more case studies of this deadly new epidemic please send them my way.

(Special thanks to DN reader Melissa Stewart, a hygiene student from Virginia, for the idea for this post!)

Spring Break

The Dental Ninja will be away from the computer for a while, but be sure to check back in a week or two for more neat-o stories! In the meantime, feel free to read about my brush with a cinnamon-flavored death on my personal blog.

Baby Epiglottis

Ever wonder how babies can drink and breath at the same time? Think about it - you can't drink and breath at the same time (try it if you don't believe me), and nursing babies don't come up for air once they "latch on".

I was studying this very concept for my board exams just over a year ago, at the same time my son was just a wee infant. The answer lies in the epiglottis. Here is an illustration of the epiglottis of an infant:
The key difference is that the shape of the baby's throat allows the epiglottis (the green shaded area) to come into contact with the soft palate (yellow), thus allowing air (shown in light blue) to enter the trachea, while milk (shown in pink) can flow around on either side.

I was recently reminded of this concept during our summer break at my parent's house when Jordan was drinking from a sippy cup and started coughing. I looked at him and asked if he got some down the wrong pipe and then realized that this had never happened to him before. I realized my little boy is growing up - his epiglottis is no longer touching his soft palate when he drinks! He'll just have to alternate between drinking and breathing just like the rest of us now. I think this is a milestone in toddlers lives that most parents are unaware of.