Wisdom Teeth

Twenty something year old woman spends two nights in ICU after wisdom tooth removal and failures by dentist

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In April 2018 in New Zealand, a twenty something year old woman had to spend two nights in the intensive care unit (ICU) after having a wisdom tooth removed. The woman had a lower right wisdom tooth extracted. This was after she presented at a dental clinic and told the dentist that she had experience on and off pain for over two years near the lower right wisdom tooth. Recently she had constant pain for over a week and and found it difficult to eat or open her mouth. The dentist diagnosed pericoronitis, which is inflammation of the tissue surrounding wisdom teeth and said the woman could either have an antibiotic to take or have the wisdom tooth extracted. The woman elected extraction. In the days that followed the woman “was in pain, her face was swollen, and she could … Read more

Lemierre’s Syndrome after Wisdom Teeth Removal

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An interesting article titled “Lemierre’s Syndrome Following Extraction of Wisdom Teeth,” appears in the October 20, 2020 edition of the Cureus Journal of Medical Science (written by A. Keshary and M. Hagan, 12(10): e11061). The article describes a case of an 18 year old man who had his wisdom teeth extracted and then developed Lemierre’s Syndrome which rarely occurs after wisdom tooth removal but is is known to affect young and healthy adults; See Near Death Wisdom Teeth Removal Experience where another case has been discussed on this site in the past. Lemierre’s syndrome is a serious bloodstream infection typically caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum. It has a death rate of around 18% and thus if detected needs to be quickly treated with antibiotics. Very few cases of Lemierre’s syndrome after wisdom teeth surgery have occurred since antibiotics became readily available. In the … Read more

Record Numbers Predicted to Die from Opioids in the US

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As has been covered on this site before, opioid abuse which can stem from wisdom teeth surgery at a young age is a major challenge in countries like the U.S. There are many stories of families where a young person in their teenage or twenty years has their wisdom teeth taken out and then are exposed to opioids to control pain. This exposure can lead to them become potentially addicted to opioids and then later die as a result of this addiction. Thus, finding alternatives to opioids for surgery like wisdom teeth removal is important to help curb a disturbing trend. See posts like Dentists Overprescribing Opioids to Adults in the U.S., New Research Being Conducted at Rutgers for Opioid Alternatives Could Lead to Less Potential Drug Abuse for those Having Wisdom Teeth Surgery, and Studies and Opinions on Opioids … Read more

Woman Parodies Birth Announcement with her Wisdom Tooth Removal

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Nowadays the social media landscape is rapidly shifting more to a short-form video form, dominated not by Facebook parent Meta Platforms, but by TikTok. In January 2022, a woman who is a registered dental hygienist used her wisdom tooth removal as an opportunity to make a parody video of a birth announcement on her TikTok account. In the video, the woman examines a toothbrush which she uses as her “pregnancy test”. While looking at the toothbrush the woman acts suprised but happy by what she sees. Next, the woman shows a shot of an x-ray on her wisdom tooth which is accompanied by the sounds of an ultrasound, which of course is a common diagnostic test before one gives birth. In the third shot, the woman shows the toothbrush with the word “impacted” taped to it, a print-out of the dental … Read more

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Leads to Giant Lung Abscess

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A unique complication of wisdom teeth removal is described in the article titled “A 45-Year-Old Man With Acute Chest Pain, Fever, and Dyspnea After Tooth Extraction” appearing in the December 2021 edition of Chest written by Tashiro et al. (issue 160, no. 6, pp. e623 – e628). In the article, discussion is made of a healthy 45-year-old man who experienced respiratory failure due to a giant lung abscess that formed as a result of oral bacteria after a wisdom tooth extraction. Two days after having a wisdom tooth removed, the 45-year-old man in Japan developed chest pain on his right side. Two weeks after the wisdom tooth extraction, the man went to a hospital because he had a fever, difficulty breathing, and had a cough and purulent sputum. The man was in good health and visited a dentist twice a … Read more