An Unusual Path to Addiction-Wisdom Teeth and Opioid Addiciton

Each year, thousands of teenagers and young adults are prescribed opioids for pain relief after having their wisdom teeth removed Alan Schroeder, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine led a study that found almost 6 percent of these patients were diagnosed with opioid abuse during the 12 months after the initial prescription. He discussed alternate options for pain relief. He said wisdom tooth extraction is by far the most common surgical procedure for adolescents and young adults but there is very little research that supports the widespread use of the procedure.