Michael Jackson and the Dentist

TMZ.com is reporting an interesting twist in the Michael Jackson saga. The claim is that Jackson targeted dentists in order to fuel his apparent drug addiction to anesthetics, in fact the article states that "Several Los Angeles doctors have told TMZ it was known in medical circles that Jackson used dentists to feed his habit."

Among the plethora of sedatives believed to be used by Jackson are Demerol and Propofol. Now, if a patient were to request either one of these drugs from any one of the dentist that I worked for over the years, red flags would definitely go up. You see, when a dentist diagnoses a patient with an oral condition that is causing extreme pain, such as a toothache, Demerol would never be prescribed. Even after wisdom teeth removal, the strongest drug I ever saw prescribed was Percocet. So why would Jackson think to "doctor shop" for drugs at a dental office? There are reports swirling around out there that say Lidocaine was found next to Jackson's body. Lidocaine is used by dentists as a local anesthetic, to numb the teeth and gum tissue before procedures such as wisdom teeth extractions, root canals, and other forms of oral surgery. The same reports suggest that Propofol , an intravenous (IV) drug, burns the skin when injected, and Lidocaine is used to numb the site of the injection in order to reduce any pain from the burning sensation. Perhaps it was Lidocaine he was after, although anesthetics are never distributed to patients for "home use".

Will we ever know the exact details surrounding the circumstances leading up to, and ending with Jackson's untimely death? Probably not, I just hope the people responsible for enabling him to continue with his apparent drug addiction, are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.