wisdom teeth removal

Bupa Ends Covering Wisdom Teeth Extractions Deeming Them Unnecessary

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There is a lot of debate regarding removing asymptomatic third molars (wisdom teeth). Those who argue against removing asymptomatic wisdom teeth (retaining) are often accused of trying to save the insurance industry money (See for example Rogue Dentist’s Crusade), while those who argue for extracting asymptomatic wisdom teeth for preventative purposes are often accused of being interested in making more money due to the commonly used fee for service health care system. Somehow in the hoopla the patient’s health seems to take a back seat to some party making (or saving) money. Recently an article came out in London in the Times titled “Health insurer’s chief takes the knife to ‘unnecessary surgery” by Nic Fildes and Andrew Clark, March 13, 2013. The article opens by saying “Want to get your wisdom teeth extracted? Don’t ask Bupa, which is cutting back on … Read more

Out of Court Settlement in Wisdom Teeth Removal Death Case

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Previously I have discussed the case where a 17 year old female died unexpectedly after having wisdom teeth removed. She was a junior in high school and died on April 6, 2011, 10 days after the surgery due to suffering a severe brain injury. The autopsy report showed that she died due to lack of oxygen to her brain during the extractions. This is discussed in the blog post 17 Year Old Female Dies After  Wisdom Teeth Removal. Recently, it appears that this case was settled out of court on March 28, 2013. The parents of the female sued both the oral surgeon and anesthesiologist in the case claiming they had shown negligence in failing to revive her after her heart rate slowed to a dangerous level and thereby causing a lack of oxygen to her brain. Unfortunately the conditions … Read more

24 Year Old Man Dies After Wisdom Teeth Removal

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Recently, another unfortunate case has occurred where a 24 year old man has died after having his wisdom teeth removed in California. See this page for some additional information on death from wisdom teeth removal. Also see other blog posts such as this one 14 Year old Boy Dies Within 24 Hours of Having Wisdom Teeth Removed. In this recent case the 24 year old man saw an oral surgeon in California to have wisdom teeth extracted on March 21, 2013. He was given 6 different sedatives including propofol. During the surgery he began to cough and went into cardiac arrest. He was then taken to a hospital and was found to have two pieces of gauze in his airway. He then died three days later. It is not clear if the gauze contributed to his death. An autopsy report … Read more

Aggressive Dental Marketing Practices

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Several years ago I posted a controversial post titled Dental Practices of some Dentists Websites Online is Questionable. In this post I discussed how I am frustrated by website users who register on forums and post topics and reply to topics with a signature that includes an html link to their (or a client’s) website. I called this a questionable search engine optimization strategy. Unfortunately this tactic continues to rage on and I actively have to fight it off and know that other website owners do so as well. Recently, I have become a bit irrated by a particular website: wisdomteethremoval.com. This website essentially has the same domain name as mine teethremoval.com except it has a wisdom added on to the front. Now clearly I deem this website as in direct competition with my website and attempting to divert attention … Read more

Propofol-Remifentanil Versus Propofol-Ketamine for Third Molar Surgery

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A study titled “Comparison of Propofol-Remifentanil Versus Propofol-Ketamine Deep Sedation for Third Molar Surgery” appears in the 2012 Anesthesia Progress journal. The authors of the study set out to better determine what anesthetic to provide during third molar (aka wisdom teeth) surgery. In the study, two drug combinations for use as deep sedation during oral surgery were evaluated. Patients in a control group received a continuous intravenous infusion of propofol-remifentanil,  and patients in an experimental group received a continuous intravenous infusion of propofol-ketamine. This study was double blind in that neither patients nor surgeons were aware of which treatment was given. In this study, 37 patients  were monitored while sedated for respiratory, heart rate, and blood pressure stability. Emergence from the effects of anesthesia and total recovery time were recorded. In addition, patients and surgeons were both asked to rate … Read more