Oral surgeon must pay 2.75 million in malpractice case for dental surgery gone wrong

An oral surgeon has been ordered to pay $2.75 million in a medical malpractice case that nearly killed a 32 year old man. The trial had been delayed numerous times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the oral surgeon refused to negiotiate any type of settlement with the patient. In 2018, the man was refered to the oral surgeon for removal of his lower left wisdom tooth. During the his first appointment, the man had a panoramic x-ray of his mouth. When the oral surgeon reviewed the x-ray he noticied a radiolucency near the man’s lower left wisdom tooth. The oral surgeon then had the man undergo a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan and suggested a biopsy to determine whether the lesion was cancerous. When a radiologist reviewed the CBCT san he said it was suboptical because IV contrast had … Read more

Robotic technology for dental implants

Oral surgeons are now using a robotic guidance system to assist with dental surgery for tooth implantation. The YOMI Robotic Dental System made by Neocis is the first FDA cleared robotic device for dental surgery for dental implants. The dental robot helps dentists and oral surgeons map out and customize a treatment plan individualized for each patient. The robot help to augment the clinical expertise of skilled implant dentistry teams. The dental robot helps to elimate any guesswork when it comes to the surgery and is able to show exactly the the depth, cutting position and needed angles the procedure needs to achieve the most optimal results. The dental robot acts like a guide and still allows the operator to modify the treatment plan if needed. The dental robot allows for dentits and oral surgeons to operate more quickly and more … Read more

Wisdom for Wisdom Program Offers Free Wisdom Teeth Removal

Several oral surgeons in the U.S. are currently accepting applications for their wisdom for wisdom program. This program allows for students to submit an application for an opportunity to have wisdom teeth removal performed for free. Typically extraction of four wisdom teeth can cost between $2,000 to $3,000 based on the level of impaction of difficulty and the type of sedation the patient is having. This program is designed to help allow college students who have numerous other expenses, to use the savings towards textbooks, room and board, or tuition for courses. The wisdom for wisdom program seems to have been started within the last five years and picked up steam during the COVID-19 pandemic when many young students were having financial struggles because their parents lost their job or they could not find a summer job. This program has … Read more

Man in China Dies Two Weeks after Wisdom Teeth Removal

Wisdom teeth surgery can in rare cases lead to death. This has been covered before on this site in blog posts such as Wisdom Teeth Removal Death in 2016 in Florida: Settlement Reached, Four and half million settlement in wisdom teeth extraction death, Two million settlement in wisdom teeth extraction death, Recent Stories on Wisdom Teeth Removal Death, Asphyxia Due to Compression of the Trachea Leading to Death After Wisdom Tooth Extraction, 12 Million Given After Wisdom Teeth Removal Caused Death, Wisdom Teeth Removal Leaves to Death Two Days After, and Air Embolism During Wisdom Teeth Removal Causes Death. In the middle of 2020 a Chinese man died after having his wisdom teeth extracted. The 26 year old man had his wisdom tooth removed at a hospital in the Hunan Province of China on May 25, 2020. He had continuous … Read more

Should we Remove Wisdom Teeth Before Bone Disease Therapy?

An interesting article titled “Pediatric-Antiresorptive Use: Should We Intervene on Third Molars Early?” written by Michael J. Cimba and et al. appears in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 79, pp. 1817−1818, 2021). The article seeks to address if oral surgeons should consider preventatively extracting wisdom teeth in children before they start bone disease therapy to prevent jawbone destruction. In the article the authors discuss how removing wisdom teeth that have not yet fully developed in children before they begin antiresorptive therapies may prevent them from developing medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). MRONJ, a progressive death of the jawbone, is a side effect of antiresorptive therapy such as bisphosphonates and denosumab, which are drugs used to treat bone (osseous) diseases and cancer-related conditions. It is well known that dental extractions like removing wisdom teeth can increase the risk … Read more