wisdom teeth complications

Fractured Elevator Tip After Wisdom Teeth Removal

by

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

by

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?

by

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

Wisdom Teeth and Mandibular Angle and Condyle Fractures

by

An interesting article titled “The relationship between the lower third molar (M3) and mandibular angle/condyle fractures – a systematic review” written by Akadiri et al. appears in Oral Surgery in 2017 (vol. 10, pp. e7-e16). The article seeks to determine mandibular angle/condyle fractures risk when an impacted wisdom tooth is present or not. In some studies the the presence of impacted wisdom teeth has been associated with increased risk of mandibular angle fractures which those who suggest prophylactic removal of wisdom teeth like to use as a valid reason. However in other studies there has been show an increased risk for mandibular condyle fracture after removing a wisdom tooth. The authors performed a systematic literature review and explored articles from 1970 to 2015. Articles included in the review meet a set of author defined criteria including using Kelly and Harrigan’s … Read more

Dental Drills Leading to Thermal Burns

by

In the past a discussion of thermal burns occurring after dental procedures and in particular wisdom teeth removal has been made. In one post it was highlighted how such thermal burns can lead to teasing and unwanted nicknames. A few other cases of thermal burns are discussed on the wisdom teeth removal complications page. In the past a discussion has also been made about how search engines including Google and Bing present differing results for the keyword “thermal burn wisdom teeth” in their image searches in the post titled The Search Engine Battle: Are you Paying Attention?. Since that article was published in late 2013 and it is now 2020, over 6 years have passed and as such revisiting this is warranted. In the past in late 2013, Google had ineffective results for the keyword “thermal burn wisdom teeth” in … Read more