Removing wisdom teeth or a wisdom tooth has risks and in some instances complications can occur. I have discussed numerous complications of wisdom teeth over at http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html.
One of the complications discussed is Bisphosphonate Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (BRONJ). What happens is that when a patient is on bisphosphonates and has a tooth extracted (any tooth a wisdom tooth or not) bone that is exposed can fail to heal. A case of this occurring is described at the Daily Mail titled “Grandmother in agony for FOUR YEARS after dentist removed wisdom tooth without checking her medical records,” by Steve Robinson, published on March 19, 2013.
In this case a 72 year old woman had a problem where she kept catching her teeth with her cheek and noticed blood. She went to her general practitioner who performed a biopsy and diagnosed an ulcer. The doctor referred her to a maxillofacial unit and wanted her wisdom teeth extracted.
When the woman went to the maxillofacial unit the dentist asked if her wisdom tooth hurt and she said no. The dentist wanted to remove the wisdom tooth anyway and did so without reviewing the medical notes. Soon after the woman began to experience pain. She was then later told that the problem was caused by the medication she was taking for her osteoporosis. She had been taking the osteoporosis medication for over 3 years.
The woman has had part of her jaw removed since the extraction. A panoramic x-ray taken in 2008 before the wisdom tooth extraction and then again in 2010 clearly shows that part of her jaw has been removed. The woman reached an out of court settlement with the dentist for £50,000 because the dentist did not review her medical records before performing the surgery. The woman continues to take pain killers all the time and says that she has lost her retirement.