Her wisdom teeth had never bothered her. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with osteoporosis and was therefore recommended to have them removed. If she didn’t, it could cause problems. Jorunn Lindgren Wighus from Ulefoss was referred for surgery at the private dental clinic Colosseum Tannlege in June last year. It was the start of a hell of pain. Foreign body in the jaw During the operation, the 52-year-old heard the dentist say that he needed a new drill. She didn’t think anything more about it. A few days after the operation, Wighus noticed that something was wrong. She suspected inflammation and began a course of penicillin. The fever went down, but the pain did not go away. Jorunn Lindgren Wighus a few days after she had her wisdom teeth removed. Photo: Privat The local dentist followed her up through the summer. At a routine check-up in August, she still hadn’t gotten better. When the dentist took a panoramic picture, she discovered a foreign body in the jaw. – She sees the drill lying there, and there are tooth remains down on the left side, explains Wighus, who was referred to the Rikshospitalet in Oslo for further follow-up. – The surgeon there says that she does not understand how the dentist managed to do this, says the 52-year-old. Damaged for life Two operations later, the remaining teeth have been removed and some of the pain is gone. But the surgeons are unable to remove the drill. The drill in the jaw stays there forever. The nerve damage is permanent. – I have to live with that, says Wighus. Jorunn Lindgren Wighus before she had her last check-up at Rikshospitalet, where she was told that she will have to live with permanent nerve damage and the remains of a drill in her jaw. Photo: Private Colosseum The dentist does not want to be interviewed, but writes in an e-mail to news that they apologize to the patient for the complications she has had. They explain that burs can break in some cases, as there are great forces involved when splitting a tooth. – In the vast majority of cases, such parts are rinsed out and taken by the suction we use during the operation. Unfortunately, this has not happened here, writes Kjetil Kaland, senior physician at Colosseum Tannlege. Read the full response from the dental clinic at the bottom of the article. More people seek compensation There has been a steady increase in the number of patient injuries from the dental service over the past five years, according to Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation. In 2022, 682 patients applied for compensation. That is over 100 more than in 2018. Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation believes they have no basis to say that the increase is due to more incorrect treatments by dentists. – We think it is probably due to more patients becoming aware of the possibility of seeking compensation, writes Torill Svoldal Stæhr, senior communications adviser in an e-mail to news. Painful to eat Today, Jorunn Lindgren Wighus regrets that she agreed to have her wisdom teeth removed. – It has caused so much trouble for me that I think it would have been better not to do it. It hurts for Jorunn Lindgren Wighus to brush his teeth. Photo: Roald Marker / news Eating is painful. She is bothered by the injuries day and night. – I wake up at night with lightning pains in my jaw. Wighus understands that everyone can make mistakes, no matter what they work on. Still, she had wanted to be met with more humility. – I would like an apology for what has happened and compensation for having to live with this, for which I am completely innocent. The full response from Colosseum Tannlege First of all, we would like to apologize to the patient for the complications the patient has had . In this case, a drill is used to divide the fractured tooth. This can happen in some cases, as there are forces and vibrations involved when splitting a tooth. In the vast majority of cases, such parts are rinsed out and taken by the suction we use during the operation. Unfortunately, this has not happened here. If the surgeon had suspected that the drill was still in the operation area, this would have been described in the medical record and examined with X-rays. In retrospect, it is of course unfortunate that this was not discovered on the spot. In such a case, the patient would have been referred to a hospital ward for further follow-up, as the patient is now. It is important to point out that the symptoms described by the patient are a relatively common problem after the removal of deep-seated wisdom teeth. Studies show that from 0.8-1.3% of patients may experience changes in sensation in the lower lip or tongue after surgical removal of wisdom teeth that have not erupted. Most of these will be able to regain normal feeling. At Colosseum Tannlege, we maintain a high professional standard and focus on the patient. We are always interested in being in dialogue with the patient if they are dissatisfied with the treatment. Here, we have not received any formal complaint from the patient, and we were therefore not aware that there was a complication until we received epicrisis from Oslo University Hospital. We want to engage in dialogue with the patient in order to resolve the situation further in the best possible way. Kjetil Kaland, Chief Medical Officer, Colosseum Dentistry.
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The visit to the dentist ended with a nightmare: – I wake up in the night with lightning pains
