A Chinese man who had 23 teeth extracted and 12 implants put in during a single continuous procedure died two weeks later of a suspected heart attack, reports said.
The man, identified only by his surname Huang from Zhejiang Province, went in for the procedure on 14 August at the Yongkang Dewei Dental Hospital.
Thirteen days later, he died from a cardiac arrest, according to a social media post by his daughter, surnamed Shu, reported the South China Morning Post.
“I didn’t expect that my dad would pass away so fast and I didn’t even have time to drive the new car I bought him,” his daughter wrote.
She said Mr Huang suffered constant severe pain in his teeth after the surgery, which is also known as “immediate restoration”.
The Yongkang Municipal Health Bureau said it was investigating the case due to the nature of the surgery followed by Mr Huang’s death days after, according to local news reports.
“Since there was a 13-day gap between the procedure and Huang’s death, we are still investigating the cause,” the bureau said.
Staff at the Dewei hospital told local news agencies that in a surgery like this, the doctor decided how many teeth can be extracted in one go after an in-person consultation with the patient and after a close study of the patient’s medical history.
The staff explained that in the case of front teeth, they can be extracted and implanted the same day with no risk, but back teeth require at least three to four months of recovery between the extraction and implantation process.
Mr Huang’s consent form for the surgery allegedly showed that his molars were implanted on the same day they were extracted, which went against usual medical protocol.
Public records accessed by local media show that the dentist who performed the surgery has five years of experience and specialises in root canals, impacted wisdom tooth removal, and full dentures.
The SCMP quoted a clinic staff member as saying: “We will not be responding to this matter now as it has been handed over to our lawyer. If there are any updates, we will issue a statement; however, the investigation is ongoing.”
Xiang Guolin, head of the Dental Center at Wuhan Fourth Hospital, told Jimu news that it was unusual for a single surgery to extract 23 in one procedure when the norm is to do no more than 10-12.
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