Large Study of Complications after Oral Surgeries

An interesting article titled “Study on post-operative complications after outpatient treatments” written by van der Sleen et al. appears in the 2013 edition of Oral Surgery. The authors were interested in evaluating the post-operative problems or complaints after surgery by oral and maxillofacial surgeons and the frequency of follow up phone calls or visits after the surgery. The authors devised a study to look at all patients who visited Isala Clinics located in the Netherlands in April 2009. All surgeries were performed by six oral and maxillofacial surgeons and two senior residents and done under local anesthesia. All patients received an antiseptic, chlorhexidine 0.12%, to rinse their mouth with 3 times a day for 7 days after surgery. All patients were also given prescriptions for ibuprofen 600 mg to control pain as needed. The surgeries were grouped into four separate … Read more

Wisdom Teeth Complications Among Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residents

An interesting article for a poster session titled “Complications Following Third Molar Extractions By Residents: A Five-Year Retrospective Monocentric Analysis,” appears in the 2017 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 75, no. 10, Supplement, pp. e-377-378) written by Momin et al.. The authors attempted to determine if differences in complications after wisdom teeth surgery arise from differences in the training of oral and maxillofacial surgery residents. In the study the authors reviewed electronic medical records of 1,992 patients that had 5,466 wisdom teeth extracted over 5 years from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016 by oral and maxillofacial surgery residents at the University of Illinois at Chicago. From the 1,992 patients, a total of 1,855 patients with 5,103 wisdom teeth had data that was analysed in the authors study. The average age of these patients … Read more

Fractured Elevator Tip After Wisdom Teeth Removal

After or during having wisdom teeth surgery complications are a possibility. One of these complications listed on http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html is displacement of a foreign body such as a dental instrument. Usually this is seen with a dental needle that breaks off but can also be seen with the dental drill bit or the blade of an elevator. A case is described in the article titled “A unique post-operative complication” written by Modgill and Mani appearing in Oral Surgery in 2016 (vol. 9, pp. 15-18) which describes a fractured elevator tip during removal of an upper wisdom tooth. In the article the authors say they are aware of only two prior cases of fracture of an instrument during teeth removal and that such retained fractured instrument fragments can cause pain or lead to an infection. In the article they describe the case … Read more

Unique Complications after Wisdom Teeth Removal: Case Reports

Complications can occur after having wisdom teeth surgery, see http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. Some of these complications are pretty rare and unusual. Recently in Oral Surgery several case reports have been reported describing some rare complications after wisdom teeth surgery. In the article titled “Spread of infection to skull base via infratemporal fossa after dental extraction related to the use of a high-speed hand piece: a case report” by Moore et al. appearing in Oral Surgery in 2018 (vol. 11, pp. 121-124) discussion is made of a 36 year old woman who had a lower right wisdom tooth removed. The woman developed a deep fascial infection that required formal exploration and drainage. The authors speculate that the woman experienced swelling and infection because of the use of an air driven high-speed hand piece used in the extraction. Forced air from the hand piece … Read more

Was Wisdom Teeth Removal Performed Without Consent that Lead to Trigeminal Nerve Damage, Migraines, and Dizziness?

An Illinois woman has filed a lawsuit against her dentist and dentist assistant in October, 2019, alleging that four wisdom teeth were extracted without informed consent. Just before the surgery occurring in September 2017, the woman alleges that she spoke with the dental assistant about concerns with going forward with the extraction. However, the surgery proceeded and the woman was given general anesthesia. The woman’s boyfriend at the time of the surgery signed of on the informed consent form although there was no legal right to do so. The dentist was not aware that the woman had nerves that were too close to the wisdom tooth and thus should have required a more complex procedure. The suit says the dentist used an “overly aggressive, improper technique” and “negligently and carelessly failed to properly inform the plaintiff of all the risks.” … Read more