Westchester Oral & maxillofacial Surgery & Implantology's online newsletter for July 2018
2975 Westchester Avenue, Suite G02, Purchase, NY 10577
• www.oralsurgeryofwestchester.com
My Time on the Green GOING PRO
Do you ever have that “What if?” moment where you find yourself thinking, “What if I never got into this field? What would I be doing today?” It can be surreal to think about another version of your life where you took a different path. This isn’t a question I often ask myself, mind you, because I know the answer already. If I wasn’t an oral surgeon, I’d be a professional golfer. In fact, before I went back to school, I was a professional golfer!
Growing up, I played tons of sports, but tennis was my favorite. I spent a lot of time on the tennis courts in my early teens, until my parents got a house in Florida. There weren’t many other kids around to play tennis with down in the Sunshine State, so I had to find some other way to occupy my time. Since I’m not one for gator wrestling, at 15 I decided to take my first golf lesson. Turns out, I love it more than tennis.
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GOLF IS A CONSTANT INTERNAL STRUGGLE.
UNLIKE TEAM SPORTS, YOU
but in the back of my mind I was always thinking, “How good can I be?” After my first semester, I dropped out and moved down to Florida to play golf professionally on mini tours. I took lessons from the world’s top instructors, played in tournaments, and was making money off the game. It was a great experience. I played on the mini tours for three years, until I met my wife-to-be. This was a woman I could see myself being with for a long time, but that wasn’t going to happen if I was traveling all the time for tours. Leaving the game behind, I went back to school, finished my undergrad, and moved on to dental school, medical school, and my surgical residency. Soon kids came along, I started my own practice, and now I don’t play golf anymore. I just don’t have the time, but that’s not a bad thing. I got to go pro, and it was awesome. Now I get to be a dad and run my own practice, and that’s awesome, too. I’m glad I took the chance and went after my dream in college. Today, my “What ifs?” don’t come with regrets.
CAN ONLY RELY ON YOURSELF TO SUCCEED.
At first, I really liked the fact that I didn’t have to wait on anyone else to play golf. As long as I had a course and some clubs, I could enjoy the game all on my own. Over time, I found more reasons to keep playing. Golf is a constant internal struggle. Unlike team sports, you can only rely on yourself to succeed. You need to have some degree of self-discipline to put the hours in, but if you commit, it’s great to see your hard work pay off. I liked seeing myself improve, both physically (in the way I handled the clubs and hit the ball) and mentally (in my ability to keep my head in the game and focus on the next hole). As I got really into the sport, I joined my high school golf team. I got really good really fast, and by the time I was a senior, I was shooting par. After graduating, I went on to start college in the fall,
But you know, in five years I’ll qualify for the seniors’ tour. It might be worth seeing if I can live that dream again.
Dr. Harrison Linsky Westchester Office • 914-251-0313
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Man-Eating Lions May Have Needed a Good Dentist
In 1898, construction on a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya came to an abrupt halt. The project wasn’t interrupted by a lack of supplies or a workers’ strike, but by something much more sinister. For a period of nine months, two male Tsavo lions stalked the campsite, dragging construction workers from their tents and devouring them. Dubbed the Tsavo Man-Eaters, these attacks have become famous due to how unusual it is for lions to hunt humans so aggressively. Healthy lions rarely eat humans. The crew attempted to keep the lions out with fences, fires, and thorn walls, but to no avail. The lions were relentless, leaping over the fences to get their next meal. Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson, head of the construction
project, ultimately succeeded in killing both lions in December 1898. Legend says the pair killed and ate over 100 people, though modern research suggests the death toll was closer to 28–31. What led the Tsavo Man-Eaters to begin their unnatural killing spree? Some theories suggest disease may have wiped out their normal food source, or the pair may have developed a taste for human flesh after finding the bodies of those who died crossing the nearby river. But a recent study by Dr. Bruce Patterson of the University of Chicago suggests a more surprising answer: They needed dental work.
discovered one of the lions hand an infection at the root of his canine tooth. In addition to the constant pain, Dr. Patterson suspected the infection would have also made it harder for the lion to hunt. This theory is bolstered by the fact that a Zambian lion that ate six people in 1991 also suffered from painful dental damage. “Lions normally use their jaws to grab prey like zebras and wildebeests and suffocate them,” Patterson said. “This lion would have been challenged to subdue and kill large, struggling prey, and humans are so much easier to catch.” We’re not saying patients will necessarily become man-eaters if they don’t get their teeth cleaned regularly, but it’s worth taking into consideration.
After studying the bodies, currently preserved at The Field Museum in Chicago, Dr. Patterson
“I had emergency surgery and Dr. Graffeo did a great job pulling a horribly impacted tooth. He clearly explained what he was going to do and then did it. He called that night to follow up and couldn’t have been any kinder. The staff was professional and courteous as well.” –Donald “I had a very positive experience at Westchester Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Implantology. The staff was incredibly helpful and always willing to accommodate their patients. My first wisdom tooth extraction with Dr. Graffeo was quick and generally painless. He was very OUR PATIENTS SAY IT BEST kind and empathetic, and I wish all doctors could emulate his care and professionalism. If you need any kind of surgery, I’d definitely recommend this place for life!” –Marili
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Once upon a time, wisdom teeth were an evolutionary advantage. Before proper dental care and hygiene, the rough diet of our ancient ancestors caused excessive wear on their teeth. People lost teeth regularly throughout the first few decades of their lives, so having some backups — the third molars — come in later was beneficial. But the average human mouth can only fit 28 teeth comfortably, and since most people are now able to keep all their teeth throughout their lifetime, four extra teeth showing up in your early 20s can be problematic. Because wisdom teeth are prone to becoming impacted, which can lead to pain, infection, and illness, wisdom tooth extraction is a common practice. But is it always needed? Some argue that if the third molars fit comfortably in a patient’s mouth and do not pose a threat to their health, then extraction would subject patients to expensive, painful, and completely unnecessary surgery. Even if a patient’s third molars do not become impacted, cause pain or damage to nearby teeth, lead to infection of the surrounding soft tissue, or form cysts or tumors, there is still the risk of maintenance. Due to their location in the back of the mouth, wisdom teeth are harder to clean. Without proper brushing or flossing, third molars can start to decay, allowing plaque to become tartar and leading to gum
disease, which can result in other systemic health problems.
Another thing to keep in mind is the danger of removing wisdom teeth later in life. Researchers from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Bochum Medical School in Germany evaluated the perioperative mortality of wisdom tooth extraction surgery in older patients. They found that patients over the age of 65 needed more antithrombotic agents, had higher rates of ankylosis and nerve proximity, and showed significantly more intraoperative and postoperative complications. These same patients needed longer operations and remained in the hospital for longer periods of time when compared to patients between the ages of 15 and 20. It is not necessary for all patients to have their wisdom teeth extracted. Surgery should be recommended on a case-by-case basis. However, even if wisdom teeth are not a problem today, dentists need to look at what problems their patients could face in the future. If your patient still has their third molars and you could use a second opinion, give Dr. Linsky and Dr. Graffeo a call at 203-614-8355 or 914-251-0313. They have experience in working with general dentists and orthodontists to develop the right treatment plan for their patients.
Is Wisdom Tooth Extraction Always Necessary? Word to theWise
Watermelon SALAD
Have a Laugh
INGREDIENTS This simple, delicious salad is the perfect summer refresher. In under 30 minutes, you’ll have a dish that will inspire rave reviews at your next summer cookout. DIRECTIONS
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● 8 cups seedless watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes ● 1/4 cup fresh lime juice ● 1 pinch of cayenne pepper ● 1/2 cup mint leaves, torn
1. In a large mixing or salad bowl, toss watermelon with lime juice and cayenne pepper.
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2. Gently fold in mint leaves. 3. Sprinkle with salt and serve.
Salt to taste
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Westchester Office • 914-251-0313
2975 Westchester Avenue Suite G02 Purchase, NY 10577
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
914-251-0313 www.oralsurgeryofwestchester.com
INSIDE This Issue
PG 1
Dr. Linsky, Pro Golfer?
PG 2
Would You Clean a Lion’s Teeth?
Our Patients Say It Best
PG 3
The Truth About Third-Molar Extraction
Watermelon Salad
PG 4
Where Do Essential Oils Come From?
Where Essential Oils Come From Sourcing the Sweet-Smelling Stuff
Call it a pseudoscientific fad or a medical revolution; either way, essential oils are more popular today than they have ever been. Though research on the efficacy of lavender, ginger, and the dozens of other sweet-smelling oils is conflicting at best, people are using them at an astonishing rate. In fact, according to Stratistics MRC, essential oils were a $5.91 billion industry in 2016 and are expected to reach $12.85 billion by 2023. Whether you’re an essential oil acolyte or you fly into a rage at the faintest hint of bergamot, your mind is probably already made up about aromatherapy. The question remains, though: Where does all this delicious-smelling stuff come from? Most essential oils are derived from a process called steam distillation . Soon after harvest, the plants are placed on a mesh inside a sealed still, into which steam is injected. As the steam rises and envelops the plant, it breaks it down and lifts its constituent components up through a tube and into a condenser. The condenser cools the resulting vapor and collects it in liquid form at the bottom. Since essential oils do not mix with water, they float on the surface, where they’re siphoned off, bottled, and shipped off to a distributor. There are other methods, such as expression (aka cold pressing), but because steam distillation is so easy to do, most essential oils you see on the shelf will have gone through this process.
Lavender essential oil is harvested from sheaves of lavandula angustifolia , that purple herb you see all over gardens across the United States. There are lavender farms all over the world, from California to Japan to Brazil, but the biggest world producer of lavender is, interestingly, Bulgaria. Tea Tree oil comes from the leaves of melaleuca alternifolia , commonly known as narrow-leaved paperbark, a short, bushy tree that produces white, fluffy flowers in the spring. The trees are endemic to Australia, but today are usually farmed in New SouthWales or Queensland. Bergamot is distilled from the peels of lime-green bergamot oranges, or citrus bergamia . Most of it comes from coastal areas around the Ionian Sea. Whatever you do with it, use it sparingly on your skin — it can amplify skin damage from the sun!
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