dental death

Tragedy in Southern Manitoba Canada: Young Woman Dies Following Dental Procedure

by

A heartbreaking incident has occurred in southern Manitoba Canada, where a 23-year-old woman tragically passed away following a routine dental appointment. The Manitoba Dental Association confirmed the news stating that the woman, residing in the Morden-Winkler area, experienced a medical emergency during the procedure on November 27th. Despite being transported to the hospital immediately, the young woman sadly passed to her condition. Investigation Underway The Manitoba Dental Association has launched a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this tragic event. The association’s president, emphasized their commitment to uncovering the facts. The specific nature of the dental procedure or whether anesthesia was involved was not disclosed yet in this case. It was however confirmed that information is being gathered from both the dental clinic and the Southern Regional Health Authority. Rare but Serious While deaths following dental procedures are thankfully rare, … Read more

Family of Teen who Died During Wisdom Teeth Removal in Washington State Files Lawsuit

by

What should have been a routine wisdom tooth removal tragically ended in the death of 17-year-old male. The oral surgeon, allegedly failed to recognize and properly respond to a common anesthesia-related complication, leading to the teens death in June of 2024 . On December 9th 2024, the parents of the deceased teen filed a lawsuit against the oral surgeon in Washington state, alleging medical malpractice and negligence. “Double Duty” Surgery Raises Concerns: The lawsuit claims that the oral surgeon acted as both the surgeon and the anesthesiologist during the procedure, a practice that increases the risk of complications. “With almost all surgeries, it is standard practice for anesthesia to be administered by someone devoting their full attention to the patient,” stated one of the lawyers, representing the family. “When a surgeon splits their jobs to double their profits, it opens … Read more

Is Pediatric Dental Death Avoidable?

by

An interesting article titled “Pediatric Dental Anesthesia: An Avoidable Tragedy,” written by Lee et al. appears in the December 2017 edition of Pediatrics (vol. 140, no. 6). In the article the authors present a case of a dental death after anesthesia for early childhood caries and have experts provide commentary. Pediatric dental deaths have been reported in the news over the years with all too much frequency. See the dental deaths page for numerous cases and the original source of the information regarding the case. In the article by Lee the authors say how young children with early childhood caries or cavities are often treated using moderate sedation or general anesthesia. It is estimated that up to 250,000 pediatric sedations for dental treatment occur in the U.S. each year. In these sedations the children are often given benzodiazepines, opioids, nitrous … Read more

The Death Rate Among Patients being Treated by Oral Surgeons in Massachusetts

by

In the past on this site death surrounding wisdom teeth removal and other dental procedures has been discussed. It has been estimated that the death rate in dentistry occurs in 1 out of every 400,000 cases. Due to a new article in 2019, the mortality rate in dentistry page at http://www.teethremoval.com/mortality_rates_in_dentistry.html has been updated.  This article is written by Wardius et al. titled “Outpatient Anesthesia Morbidity and Mortality Experience Among Massachusetts Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons” and published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in 2019. It is worthwhile exploring the details of this article. The article discusses the results of a mailed questionnaire that was sent to active members of the Massachusetts Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons who practiced using the single–operator-anesthetist model in the years 2015 and 2016. A total of 288 oral and maxillofacial surgeons were included … Read more

What to Ask the Dentist Before Children Have Sedation

by

In July of 2017, Today ran a nice piece titled “9 questions to ask your dentist before your kids go under sedation,” written by Linda Caroll, July 10, 2017. The article discusses some recent children dental deaths that occurred in the last few years. If you have been on teethremoval.com before, you know that many cases like these have been covered in the past and you can see more on http://www.teethremoval.com/death.html and http://www.teethremoval.com/dental_deaths.html. The article says that doctors from the American Academy of Pediatrics are speaking out about the dangers of sedating children for oral surgery. It is said that it is unclear how many children or adults for that matter, have died in the U.S. during dental procedures. However, some work by the Dallas Morning News in 2015, indicates a dental patient dies nearly every other day in the U.S. The state … Read more