wisdom teeth extraction

Two million settlement in wisdom teeth extraction death

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A 17 year old woman died in June 2015, after having her wisdom teeth removed. This has been reported on http://teethremoval.com/death.html since 2015. The woman was from Minnesota and went into cardiac arrest during the surgery. The woman’s parents in early 2017, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the oral and maxillofacial surgeon. The court documents said that the surgeon and staff did not appropriately anticipate or respond to the emergency. The lawsuit said there were dangerous actions, from incorrectly administering general anesthesia to failing to provide proper monitoring during surgery. The attorney said the parents sued the doctor as it “…gave the family a better understanding of how the death of their daughter came about… They had the courage in a difficult situation to seek the truth about why their daughter died.” The attorney also said “I’m absolutely convinced that … Read more

Avoiding Amoxicillin During Wisdom Teeth: What are the Possible Problems

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An interesting article titled “Dental Care Professionals Should Avoid the Administration of Amoxicillin in Healthy Patients During Third Molar Surgery: Is Antibiotic Resistence the Only Problem?” appears in the 2016 Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery written by Othoniel H. Aragon-Martinez and et al. (vol. 74, pp. 1512-1513). The authors attempt to explain why amoxicillin should not be used during wisdom teeth surgery. Amoxicillin is commonly used to prevent infections. Information from high quality clinical trials has shown that amoxicillin is not effective to reduce the risk of wound infections when it is received both preoperatively and postoperatively.  Recent evidence has shown that the administration of 250 mg of amoxicillin in healthy volunteers every 8 hours for 7 days produces  antibiotic resistance. The authors also discuss the topic of dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is a detrimental modification in the composition of the microbiome alongside altered microflora functions, which can be produced by antibiotic exposure, … Read more

Are There Differences in Complications After Wisdom Teeth Surgery Depending on the Sedation Received?

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An interesting article titled “Complications of Moderate Sedation Versus Deep Sedation/General Anesthesia for Adolescent Patients Undergoing Third Molar Extraction” appears in the 2016 Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery written by Gino Inverso and et al. (vol. 74, pp. 474-479).  The authors set out to determine if there is any difference in complications occurring after wisdom teeth surgery when patients are given either moderate sedation or deep sedation. For patients undergoing wisdom teeth surgery they may have some say in what level of sedation they receive and it may also be based on the desires of the surgeon. Specifically the authors examined the complications resulting from moderate sedation versus deep sedation/general anesthesia for adolescent patients undergoing wisdom teeth extraction. They sought to determine if any differences in complication risk exist between the two levels of sedation. The authors explored a database commissioned by the the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons … Read more

Using Dexmedetomidine For Wisdom Teeth Surgery

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An interesting article titled “Sedation Protocol Using Dexmedetomidine for Third Molar Extraction” appears in the 2016 Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery written by Dae-Seung Ryu and et. al. (vol. 74, pp. 926.e1-926.e7). The article seems to determine a sedation protocol for dexmedetomidine. The authors state that IV sedation is often given in cases of wisdom teeth surgery with midazolam being a medication commonly used. When midazolam is combined with opioids it can cause respiratory depression. Dexmedetomidine is an alpa2-agonist acting on adrenoceptors in many tissues, including those in the nervous, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems. Compared with midazolam, the major advantage of dexmedetomidine is its minimal effect on the respiratory system. It also produces an analgesic effect which can help alleviate the sensation of pain after tooth extraction. The authors set out to study the pain, patient satisfaction, sedation depth, and adverse effects after wisdom teeth extraction using dexmedetomidine and to compare IV and intranasal (IN) routes of administration. The … Read more

Can Science Solve Our Problems?

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An interesting article titled “Science and Conscience” appears in the 2015 Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery written by Thomas Dodson (vol. 73, pp. 2255-2256). The article opens by discussing a study by the NIH seeking to explore the differences in people with a systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg versus that of 120 mm Hg. The study was aborted with a year left in its duration. The study concluded achieving a target systolic blood pressure of 120 mm Hg reduced cardiovascular events by almost 33% and death by almost 25% compared with a group with a target systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg. The authors question why such a study was ever needed to be done because it seems so intuitive but later explains that our society today relies on science to achieve it’s high standards. The author then goes on to discuss how there … Read more