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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2007.129874v1 98/4/582    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Friedman, J. W. PubMed Articles by Friedman, J. W.

Jay W. Friedman, DDS, MPH

Jay W. Friedman is a retired general dentist and a consultant and writer living in Los Angeles, Calif.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Jay W. Friedman, 3057 Queensbury Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90064 (e-mail: drjfriedman@sbcglobal.net).

	Because this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

The "current thinking" Pollan and Pogrel refer to is almost exclusively that of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), reflecting studies sponsored by AAOMS and published almost exclusively in its own journal. It is particularly noteworthy that periodontists, specialists in the treatment of gum disease, have not singled out third molars for extraction.

The unpredictability of morbidity stressed by Pollan and Pogrel is not limited to wisdom teeth. It applies to the appendix, gall bladder, tonsils, uterus, prostate, and female breasts. No responsible person would suggest removing these structures in adolescence, or at any age, to prevent . . . [Full Text]