Woman’s neck swells after failed wisdom tooth extraction

A woman’s neck swelled after her wisdom tooth fell into her neck as a result of a failed dental procedure.

According to Jamie Santos’ report on “24 Oras” Saturday, the neck of “Rian” was already swollen and filled with pus when she was referred to a dental clinic in San Juan City.

By then, the patient already had difficulty opening her mouth and eating in the past three months.

“Parang meron siyang bukol tapos sumakit iyong lalamunan ko. Sobrang sakit, hindi ko na kaya,” she said.

After getting an X-ray, it was found that a tooth was stuck in the side of her neck.

According to Rian, she earlier underwent extraction for her impacted tooth at another clinic.

In the middle of the procedure, she said she noticed the dentist suddenly became nervous.

“Noong tinatanggal na niya iyong ngipin ko, nagtaka ako kasi parang buo niyang tinanggal,” she said, adding she remembered that when her previous dentist did it for her other tooth, only a section was removed.

Rian said the dentist told her it would be better to take out the whole tooth. She also recalled that the dentist’s face suddenly changed.

“Natakot ako, ang ginawa ko pumikit na lang ako,” said the patient. “Bigla niyang sinabi, ayun buti na lang natanggal ko na.”

A few weeks later, the side of her neck started to get swollen. She immediately informed the dentist, who prescribed her with antibiotics and vitamins.

When the swelling persisted, the dentist could no longer be reached.

According to oral surgeon Gerald Hernandez, the wisdom tooth was in fact not removed. It was only displaced to the patient’s neck, when the back of her jaw got broken.

“Mukhang pinuwersa ng malakas iyong ngipin during binubunutan siya kaya nag-break off iyong buto doon sa banda likod noong ngipin kaya na-displace siya papunta sa submandibular space. Since nabasag iyong buto sa likod, na-shoot iyong ngipin papunta sa loob,” he said. 

The tooth has since been extracted from Rian’s neck, but she is still traumatized by the incident.

The surgeon, meanwhile, has an advice for his fellow dentists. “We should know our limitations in our practice and skills to avoid complications like this,” he said.

GMA News tried to get a comment from the dentist who conducted the tooth extraction, but they had not sent their response as of airing. – RC, GMA News