As I have written on my website, I disagree with wisdom teeth removal from a legal standpoint (in addition to scientific). Essentially what I argue is that if you have your wisdom teeth extracted and suffer a complication that is not one of the better known you may not recover any money and be left with the pain, suffering, and loss of earnings for the rest of your life.
A recent oral surgeon lawsuit after wisdom teeth removal helps reaffirm my previous remarks. The article states that Cynthia Thompson sued Dr Princell because he did not disclose all the risks of surgery and she suffered a neurological syndrome (specifically a damaged inferior alveolar nerve) as a result of the wisdom teeth removal.
“During the trial, 3 oral surgeons told the court that they knew little about the causes of the neuropathic pain syndrome and its association with extraction of wisdom teeth, according to court documents.”
This case occurred in the state of Georgia. Hence due to the complication of nerve damage occurring to Cynthia and the fact that the only risks that need to be disclosed before oral surgery are the most common ones (of which I have previously discussed with a lawyer), Cynthia is left with permanent nerve damage as a result of elective wisdom teeth removal and receives no compensation for her suffering, pain, and loss of earnings.
I personally have a problem with this case though as inferior alveolar nerve damage is a much more well known complication of wisdom teeth removal than some of the others. I argue that it is very important for oral surgeons to take data on what complications occur by their patients and release this data to other oral surgeons so that it can be compiled. I also argue that the legal system should be change to stop rewarding American doctors for malpractice. The norm in America is to remove healthy wisdom teeth that are impacted but this is not the norm in other countries such as Britain.