Dr. Lee (Mac) Whitesides, DDS, MMS is Board Certified in
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Whitesides is one of only two oral-maxillofacial surgeons in the United States who currently hold a Masters degree in
Anesthesia and is Board Certified in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. He has extensive experience with
Distraction Osteogenesis for the Maxillofacial Skeleton, generating sufficient quantity of bone height and width to provide the appropriate foundation for Dental Implants.
Education / Training: BS in Biology at Davison Collage 1984; MMSc. in Anesthesia at Emory University 1986; DMD in Dentistry at Georgia Regents University 1992; General Practice Residency Maimonidies Med Center 1993; Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Univ. Maryland Medical Systems 1997.
Dr. Whitesides offers litigation support services for Standard of Care issues involving Anesthesia and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery. He has reviewed over 100 cases, been deposed four times, and testified in court three times. His services are available to attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense.
Professional Affiliations:
- Diplomate: American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons
- American Dental Association
- Georgia Dental Association
Honors & Awards:
- President School of Allied Health Emory University
- Recipient of American Dental Society of Anesthesiology Award
- Appointed to the National Dean's List
- Member of All-American Scholar's Society
View Dr. Whitesides' Consulting Profile.
Oral cancer is the sixth most common malignancy diagnosed in the United States. It represents 3 to 5% of all cancers in America. This translates in over 43,000 new cases of oral cancers yearly (1996 figures). In 1996 in the U.S., there were 8,260 deaths directly attributed to oral cancer. In the state of Georgia, 680 new cases of oral cancer were diagnosed, and 190 deaths occurred from oral cancer in 1996.
As dentistry becomes more competitive, dentists are increasingly looking at unique ways to separate their practices and develop a niche. One such niche lies in the offering of patients' sedation and/or general anesthesia, commonly called "sleep dentistry" during the dental treatment. Since studies show 30% to 50% of Americans avoid the dentists because of fear issues, providing such a service appears to serve a need.
A new complication from treatment with bisphosphonates has become an important disease condition for the dental professional to recognize. Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) manifests itself as devitalized exposed bone in the maxillofacial region. Patients may be considered to have BRONJ, if all three of the following are presented simultaneously:
Injuries to the inferior alveolar and lingual nerve continued to be a significant source of litigation for the dental professional. Approximately 10% of cases of dental malpractice are a result of nerve injury. Perhaps the genesis of the high number of lawsuits proportional to the overall number of surgeries lies in the sequelae of a nerve injury. The sequelae can range from relatively minor annoying numbness to intractable pain and the anesthesia to the area of the nerve supply.
Supernumerary teeth in the absence of syndromes such as cleidocranial dysplasia or Gardner's is a rare event1-3. The most common supernumerary tooth is the mesiodens which appears in the maxillary midline.3 The exact etiology of supernumerary teeth is unclear but many theories exist in an attempt to explain why extra teeth are present in some individuals.
