# 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:** 3
**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, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/41 "2014-05-22T00:10:21Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > And I, for one, do appreciate your efforts. Thank you that is so kind. I feel that I get info on many topics here from people who know more about a subject than I do so try and help when I can. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/42 "2014-05-22T03:30:28Z")
> [@Lsura](#): > > 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. My dentist once apparently got so close to the nerve that I got a sort of electric-shock kind of feeling that was just this side of painful- then he injected the anesthetic and… BOOM! Nearly instant numbness in that quadrant of my lower jaw. I’ve never had it take effect so fast or so thoroughly before or since. ---
**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, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/43 "2014-05-22T11:20:22Z")
> [@bump](#): > > My dentist once apparently got so close to the nerve that I got a sort of electric-shock kind of feeling that was just this side of painful- then he injected the anesthetic and… BOOM! Nearly instant numbness in that quadrant of my lower jaw. I’ve never had it take effect so fast or so thoroughly before or since. happened to me once too. Was numb for over eight hours. It isn’t rare but not an everyday thing. I get it on someone maybe a couple of time a month. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/44 "2014-05-22T13:42:31Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > The patient makes much more difference. Some people are much easier to work on then others. You mean like some of them get really pissy when you put your foot against their shoulder? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/45 "2014-05-22T13:54:08Z")
> [@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] The US Army pulled all my dad’s uppers and replaced them with dentures before they shipped him to Vietnam. He’s never said anything about being tied to a chair or pliers (and that seems like the sort of detail you’d mention) but my understanding is that they were all done in one go. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/46 "2014-05-22T14:49:13Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > 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. I think the issue is that nitrous oxide is a gas, so delivered via a mask. Normally, the professional supervising your anesthesia is supposed to ensure you get the right mix of nitrous to oxygen - but if you tried it yourself for kicks, it would be all too easy to put the mask on, start the nitrous going, get anesthitized, and die. What would likely kill you is not an overdose of nitrous, but a lack of oxygen. A good way to commit suicide, I would imagine. Not recommended for a casual drug trip, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/47 "2014-05-22T21:29:17Z")
As I was reading this thread, who should call me on the phone but my dentist’s office, to confirm my appointment for tomorrow. Needless to say, I rescheduled. ---
**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, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/48 "2014-05-22T23:50:36Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I think the issue is that nitrous oxide is a gas, so delivered via a mask. Normally, the professional supervising your anesthesia is supposed to ensure you get the right mix of nitrous to oxygen - but if you tried it yourself for kicks, it would be all too easy to put the mask on, start the nitrous going, get anesthitized, and die. What would likely kill you is not an overdose of nitrous, but a lack of oxygen. > > A good way to commit suicide, I would imagine. Not recommended for a casual drug trip, though. not quite so easy, the regulators are set up so you can’t have N2O without at least 30% O2. N2O can’t be turned on unless the O2 is flowing. If the O2 is cut off the N2O stops. I can think of one way to do it but won’t discuss it. ---
**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 23, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/49 "2014-05-23T00:32:23Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > not quite so easy, the regulators are set up so you can’t have N2O without at least 30% O2. N2O can’t be turned on unless the O2 is flowing. If the O2 is cut off the N2O stops. I can think of one way to do it but won’t discuss it. Is that a recent development? That was decades ago my prof told us that. I suppose the equipment may have been different back then. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/50 "2014-05-23T00:57:37Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Is that a recent development? That was decades ago my prof told us that. I suppose the equipment may have been different back then. nope been that way for much longer than I’ve been doing it, twenty eight years. I think what you heard was an urban legend. They are porter valves, I’ll try to look it up. ---
**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 23, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/51 "2014-05-23T01:04:26Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > nope been that way for much longer than I’ve been doing it, twenty eight years. I think what you heard was an urban legend. They are porter valves, I’ll try to look it up. It was certainly longer than 28 years ago I was told this, but no, I can’t vouch for the truth of what she said. I just assumed being a physician she would know what she was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![cococ173](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@cococ173](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cococ173)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/52 "2014-05-23T01:20:09Z")
My dad was a dentist/orthodontist until he retired in the 1970s. He never used nitrous back then, claiming it was too dangerous. I am guessing those fail-safe valves weren’t yet in use. What he did instead, for those patients unable or unwilling to get xylocaine, et al: He learned hypnosis. I know folks who have gotten all their uppers or lowers extracted in the dentist’s office with just local anesthesia and did fine. ---
**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 23, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/53 "2014-05-23T01:57:06Z")
Well, I’ve been to the dentist several times, so I know the drill. ---
**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 23, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/54 "2014-05-23T03:06:18Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > nope been that way for much longer than I’ve been doing it, twenty eight years. I think what you heard was an urban legend. They are porter valves, I’ll try to look it up. Hey **rsat3acr** , Any chance of you starting an “Ask the Dentist” thread? I’m sure it would be hugely popular, if you could keep up with it. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/55 "2014-05-23T05:28:34Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > not quite so easy, the regulators are set up so you can’t have N2O without at least 30% O2. N2O can’t be turned on unless the O2 is flowing. If the O2 is cut off the N2O stops. I can think of one way to do it but won’t discuss it. When I was a kid, maybe 7 or 8, they said they were real busy so they would turn up the gas high and be back in just a minute. They forgot, or someone thought someone else turned it down, anyway a loonnnggg time passed and I was almost passed out and they were a bit concerned. I got oxygen and they walked me around a bit until i could walk again and I was ok. Mom rescheduled the procedure. She wasn’t pleased. Pardon the hijack, but funny story… once during my 20’s I was at the dentist having something done, N2O going, mouth open wide, and I got the giggles so damn bad he had to stop for a while and told me, you know laughing gas isn’t really supposed to make you laugh right? I was beet red with embarrassment, they laughed at me, but it was totally uncontrollable. I laughed until I was tearing and out of breath. I’ve had NO2 several times and was just fine. Don’t know what was so funny that day. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/56 "2014-05-23T08:58:47Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I think the issue is that nitrous oxide is a gas, so delivered via a mask. Normally, the professional supervising your anesthesia is supposed to ensure you get the right mix of nitrous to oxygen - but if you tried it yourself for kicks, it would be all too easy to put the mask on, start the nitrous going, get anesthitized, and die. I’ve known two people who’ve had N2O. Not so common anymore. One of them said that when he was a kid, the dentist used to look in his mouth and say > [@](#): > > Hmmm… I think we need a little gas here go out of the room for a couple of minutes, come back and say > [@](#): > > Ahhh, yes that’s better None of my dentists ever offered me N20. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/57 "2014-05-23T09:01:59Z")
> [@PurpleClogs](#): > > I laughed until I was tearing and out of breath. I’ve had NO2 several times and was just fine. The other friend told me after he had N20 that the joke his dentist used was the same every time, but he laughed every time. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/58 "2014-05-23T14:23:21Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > not quite so easy, the regulators are set up so you can’t have N2O without at least 30% O2. N2O can’t be turned on unless the O2 is flowing. If the O2 is cut off the N2O stops. I can think of one way to do it but won’t discuss it. That would make sense, of course. However, there is at least some indication that people do kill themselves with anesthesia this way. Here’s a pubmed article from the '90s, unfortunately only an abstract: > **[Asphyxial deaths from the recreational use of nitrous oxide - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1506823/)** > > The recreational use of nitrous oxide is widespread. Nitrous oxide for recreational use is usually obtained from anesthesia tanks or whipped-cream machine chargers or cans. Twenty previously described deaths associated with recreational nitrous-oxide... > [@](#): > > The recreational use of nitrous oxide is widespread. Nitrous oxide for recreational use is usually obtained from anesthesia tanks or whipped-cream machine chargers or cans. Twenty previously described deaths associated with recreational nitrous-oxide use describe anesthesia tanks and whipped-cream machine dispensors as a source. Five deaths associated with nitrous oxide use are presented; two involving whipped-cream cannisters as the source, two involving anesthesia tanks, and one involving a racing fuel tank as a source of nitrous oxide. Autopsy findings in our cases were subtle or negative, but usually suggestive of asphyxia. Through a laboratory simulation, we have confirmed that nitrous oxide displaces oxygen in a closed space, which probably leads to asphyxia. A review of the literature, neuropharmacology, and pathophysiology of nitrous oxide use is also presented. The article doesn’t say how the “anesthesia tanks” were used, maybe the people somehow removed the regulator and accessed them directly. According to a CNA Healthpro letter, the safety system you mentioned was introduced in 1976 and is now standard. > [@](#): > > Current flow-meters employ a fail-safe mechanism that stops the flow of nitrous oxide whenever the percentage of oxygen drops below 30 percent. This mechanism also prevents the delivery of N2O in concentrations greater than 70 percent, preventing anoxia. This feature, introduced in 1976, is standard on every flowmeter unit manufactured today. Flowmeters without fail-safe mechanisms should be replaced with up-to-date units. > > Your system should make it impossible to attach a nitrous oxide cylinder or hose to an oxygen portal or thread (and vice versa) by using indexing pins on portable machines or by having hoses and couplers of differing diameters for each gas. Again, machines manufactured today incorporate these safety features. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/59 "2014-05-23T16:17:16Z")
> [@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.** … Side comment on the bolded bit: In my own experience at the other end of the drill, this is not true. I’ve had some pretty horrifying experiences with numbing upper teeth (well, with numbing ANY teeth; some people are just tough that way). Which of course leads to greater anxiety, which leads to poorer results with the anesthetic, which leads to even GREATER anxiety… etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754/60 "2014-05-23T16:32:03Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I’ve known two people who’ve had N2O. Not so common anymore. … > None of my dentists ever offered me N20. I had N2O for the first time around 2007 when I’d postponed dental care for 18 months due to well-earned terror. Went to a new dentist, explained the history, suggested she might use a sledgehammer to knock me out. She proposed N2O plus a strong oral sedative as a slightly more ADA-approved choice :D. When she sold the practice, the new dentist did not offer me N2O, but by then I knew enough to ASK for it. I don’t think they offer it routinely either but thankfully they’re set up for it, or otherwise I’d have had to find someone new. The dentist we went to pre-2007 did not offer N20 either - not sure he was set up for it at all. An endodontist who saw me in that same timeframe specifically said “not set up for N2O” (one of my horrifying “can’t numb upper” experiences). Other endodontists since then HAVE had N2O available. So all in all, I wonder if N2O is making a bit of a comeback. I mean, per other threads it doesn’t do that much for analgesia at current usage guidelines, but it gets you really really relaxed and THAT lets the _local_ work better. This has certainly proven to be true for me, and I will never again have fillings etc. done without it (as I tell the dentist, “it’s better for BOTH of us if I’m stoned”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-dies-after-dentist-attempts-to-extract-20-of-her-teeth/688754.md?page=4)