Patients will be a little more reluctant to go to the dentist after news that dental drill bit accidents could happen from time to time and there's really nothing to do about it.
According to Swedish newspaper The Local, a dental implant surgery turned into a nightmare as the dentist's drill came unstuck, fell down the patient's throat and landed in her right lung in September. It was reported to the authorities shortly after. The newspaper reported:
"The patient, a 60-year-old woman, was having the surgery at Västmanland County Hospital in Västerås, in central Sweden. During surgery, the drill came loose from the grip and fell into her mouth. She was quickly pulled into a sitting position, but it was too late."
"She tried to spit it out, and was made to cough, but she'd already swallowed," the hospital's medical chief Per Weitz told The Local.
The woman was immediately taken to be x-rayed, which revealed that the drill had lodged in her right lung. Weitz explained that during the bronchoscopy, a pinky-sized tube was sent into her lung with a small camera and pliers to grab hold of the drill.
The patient was able to leave the next day but did not fully recover for another month.
New routines have been put in place to avoid similar accidents in the future, but it won't eliminate all risk.
"What we've done at the clinic is to make sure everyone double checks that the drill is attached properly, and we've also introduced a routine of testing the drill in the air. That should be done before every procedure now," Weitz told The Local.
"Unfortunately, drills are going to be dropped every now and then," Weitz admitted.
There was no mention of a lawsuit following the accident. Vibe.com provided a link "Dental Drill Accident Leads to Lawsuit" but there was no story there.
