# Woman dies after dentist attempts to extract 20 of her teeth **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 19, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754 "2014-05-19T18:11:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/21 "2014-05-19T22:03:16Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > **Charlie Wayne** I’d guess your dentist then didn’t have good placement of the anesthetic. Failure to get anesthesia is virtually never a volumn(of anesthetic) problem but a placement problem. Where it is placed v. where it needs to be. Upper teeth should almost never be a problem to get numb. Lowers are a bit more problematic. I like to explain to my patients it is like when having blood drawn and the sometimes miss, hell they can see the target and still miss. We can’t see the target so are bound to miss sometimes. The key of course is making the proper adjustment the second injection. I learned about various levels of dental anesthesia during a procedure last fall - my excellent dentist was prepping a tooth for a crown (this is the only crown I have on a tooth that’s not been root canaled). He did the first shot. That didn’t do anything at all. So he did the second and was talking about how dentists have gotten lazy since his father’s day (my dentist is 40, so my age): the anesthetics have gotten better, so they don’t have to locate quite as precisely, but for that second shot he was doing something differently (some kind of hole or something? I don’t remember what). That didn’t numb me as much as he wanted, so there was another shot. And when that didn’t get me there he did what I think was called an intraligamental block. I felt nothing after that (and for about 5-6 hours afterward) in that quadrant of my mouth. But I was so incredibly sore once it wore off - not from the procedure, but from the block. The point of this being that it absolutely fascinated me with dental anesthesia. I don’t want to be a dentist, but I didn’t realize until then that it’s such a precise matter. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/22 "2014-05-20T05:58:03Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Dentist here, 20 teeth in one sitting is a bit, but not unheard of by any means. Fairly common for denture cases. Really? I thought it would be spread out over a few visits just to lessen the physical shock, which explains YIANAD. Thanks… ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/23 "2014-05-20T07:54:29Z")
I had all of mine extracted at one setting, I may have had 4 or 5 allready missing. It was no big deal. Posts were installed and dentures fitted all in one visit. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/24 "2014-05-20T08:24:08Z")
When my grandad was out in Afghanistan, they tied him to a chair and pulled all of his teeth out with pliers. I’d imagine that British army dentistry has improved since then… [True story] ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/25 "2014-05-20T08:49:45Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > When my grandad was out in Afghanistan, they tied him to a chair and pulled all of his teeth out with pliers. > > I’d imagine that British army dentistry has improved since then… > > [True story] Was your grandad a soldier or a POW? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/26 "2014-05-20T08:52:42Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > When my grandad was out in Afghanistan, they tied him to a chair and pulled all of his teeth out with pliers. > > I’d imagine that British army dentistry has improved since then… > > [True story] “When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains, And the women come out to cut up what remains, Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains And go to your gawd like a soldier.” – Rudyard Kipling And I always thought _that_ sounded bad. Guess Kipling never had any dealings with Royal army dentists. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/27 "2014-05-21T01:32:44Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Was your grandad a soldier or a POW? A soldier, it was his own army that did it, possibly as a result of him contracting malaria out there, or maybe just gum disease. That was back in about 1914. Back in the mid-sixties my mum had all her teeth taken out because she had gingivitus. I think NHS dentists at the time were better paid for extracting teeth rather than treating them, so that might have been a contributory factor. I was two at the time and my elder sister was four. I still remember how we laughed after getting to read a book about a girl named ‘Amelia Anne Spiggins’ to us with her new false teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/28 "2014-05-21T03:29:21Z")
My father had all his pulled for dentures when he was in the army, and I think it was in one session. My friend’s husband had all his pulled (he had already lost a couple) for dentures a couple of years ago. He had it done all at once and came home with temporary dentures. I have had my wisdom teeth pulled and hope to hang on to all my others as long as I can. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/29 "2014-05-21T03:45:57Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > “freeze” you in Canada? No insult intended, just only hear that from Canadians. Down here we say “numb up” or rarely “put to sleep”. > … I can’t speak for **Charlie Wayne** ’s location, but yeah, we definitely say “freeze” here in Canada. I didn’t realize till now that everyone didn’t use that term. ETA: A guy I went to high school with died in the chair during a wisdom teeth extraction. Something about allergy to the anesthetic or something. Weird at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/30 "2014-05-21T03:52:48Z")
One of my worst nightmares too. I had one tooth that had to be yanked when I was a kid. I was about 8 or 9 and one of my baby teeth hadn’t fallen out yet, so the adult tooth was growing out the side of my gum. This was back in the 80s and all they gave me was the needle shot. I remember feeling the most pain I ever felt in my life and it’s given me my lifelong fear of dentists to this day. So these days I make sure to take extremely good care of my teeth, just so I rarely have to see the dentist. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/31 "2014-05-21T14:25:47Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > ETA: A guy I went to high school with died in the chair during a wisdom teeth extraction. Something about allergy to the anesthetic or something. Weird at the time. Back in Texas, I has a prof whose wife was a doctor. She claimed there was an epidemic of cleaning women dying in dentists’ chairs. Seems they’d be in the office cleaning at night, decide to give themselves a little nitrous oxide fix or whatever the chemical was, then die from an overdose, only to be found in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/32 "2014-05-21T18:10:40Z")
Well, now I’m sitting here and I can feel all of my teeth. Just feel them, sitting there. Thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![Sehmket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Sehmket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sehmket)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/33 "2014-05-21T19:29:26Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > I had **seven teeth** out in one go when I was a kid – 3 baby teeth and the 4 permanent teeth underneath them. It was preventative orthodontia – rather than waiting for them to come in crowded, they made space in advance. Me, too! Although, mine had a bonus - I somehow had an extra tooth that was just kind of chilling in the wings, so they took that one out during that surgery. I was elementary school aged, and I had no idea that I’d been having excruciating headaches until they were gone. My mom was freaked that I had an infection or something, because for the next couple days, I was telling her that my head felt so light and bouncy and I was in such a chipper mood. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/34 "2014-05-21T20:22:42Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Well, now I’m sitting here and I can feel all of my teeth. Just feel them, sitting there. Thanks for that. Sitting there. Quiet. _Too_ quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/35 "2014-05-21T21:02:54Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > _“Is it safe?”_ > [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Many people may not recognize your reference. But I do and I offer you a “high five”. > > Unfortunately, there is no such Smilie for “high five”. But it’s probably too rare to create one in the first place. > > However, … Good on you! > [@rsat3acr](#): > > And from the same scene: “you really should take better care of your teeth” > [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Fairly amazing that some maniac would torture his victim and almost in the same breath tell him, “you really should take better care of your teeth”. > > I remember that I found that movie to be quite amazing when I first saw it around 1976 (Marathon Man starring Dustin Hoffman). But it certainly did not hold up at all very well. I saw it again recently and it seemed very trashy to me. Bizarre! > > However, if anyone here would like to see the most painful scene of dental torture ever, > > you should see that movie "Marathon Man’ starring Dustin Hoffman circa 1976). It did have one interesting plot line in that a Nazi working in a death camp stole a fortune in diamonds from his victims and then, 30 years later, he attempted to convert them into cash in NYC. As he walked down the street in Manhattan, several of his victims recognized him and a group of octogenarians began chasing him down the street. I don’t know whether to say it was amazingly funny or amazingly horrible, but it was def fairly amazing and worth seeing at least once. Just don’t ever watch [this movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116075/?ref_=nv_sr_1). You’ll never go to a dentist again. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SUZ\_MAC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@SUZ\_MAC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SUZ_MAC)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/36 "2014-05-21T21:14:18Z")
I’m going to have the “teeth in my mouth hanging by the roots” dream tonight. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/37 "2014-05-21T21:41:02Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Really? I thought it would be spread out over a few visits just to lessen the physical shock, which explains YIANAD. > > Thanks… If she was in pain, she might have wanted to get it done. Or, it might have been a condition of using general anesthesia. Either the dentist didn’t want to put her through successive sessions of GA, or she couldn’t afford it. I have lots of fillings, but that gawd, all my actual teeth. My mother is 74, and has all her teeth, although she had one root canal, and has a crown on that tooth. My brother is 42, and has no fillings. I hate him. But, he didn’t need braces like I did. I got a lot of my fillings right after I got my braces off, and a few of them have had to be replaced after 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/38 "2014-05-21T23:54:04Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > I generally try to weigh in on all the dental threads And I, for one, do appreciate your efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/39 "2014-05-21T23:56:57Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > Back in the mid-sixties my mum had all her teeth taken out because she had gingivitus. I think NHS dentists at the time were better paid for extracting teeth rather than treating them, so that might have been a contributory factor. In the 1970’s my mom spent nearly 10 years having her gingivitius treated in an attempt to save her teeth. It didn’t work. In retrospect, she might have been better off having them pulled much sooner, so you mom’s treatment may have been the best option in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/40 "2014-05-22T00:06:46Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Just don’t ever watch [this movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116075/?ref_=nv_sr_1). You’ll never go to a dentist again. > > 😃 IIRC when that movie came out the ADA wanted us to protest to the movie studio or some such thing saying that that isn’t how dentists really are. Of course not no movies are about how anything is, they are entertainment and a business. Anyway I liked the movie. Saw every bloody/slasher movie I could when I was young. I thought the actual dental scenes were well done. Even The Dentist 2 was good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754.md?page=3)