Principal Dies During Root Canal

I was on studentdoctor.net and came across an thread that linked to this article:

Chicago Tribune: Woman Dies at Dental Office

My thoughts on what was reported are these:

"I would think that she had to have some kind of underlying health problem," said Dr. Christopher Wenckus, chief of the department of endodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "Healthy people just don't die from heart attacks."

I find it funny that they would quote the chief of endo here. Right off the bat, this just shows that the reporter either has no clue about anything pertaining to this subject or is lazy. Autopsy reports showed inconclusive results, but we do know a little about what happened and, if a proper expert is consulted, I am sure that an educated guess could be made about what caused the patient to go into cardiac arrest.

I also love this bit from the article:

"Both dentists had their licenses placed on probation for 18 months starting in July after the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation alleged that a "crown and bridge treatment" performed by their office was substandard. They were also cited for poor record keeping."

Is it any real wonder that we never hear about the doctor (dental, medical, etc) that takes meticulous records, proper histories, treatment plans ethically for their patients killing people? Don't get me wrong, even the best of doctors make mistakes and bad things happen to everyone, BUT it usually seems like the morons are the ones creating a scene when things go wrong. Also, if you are providing substandard crown and bridge treatment, what makes you think that you can perform a root canal properly, and on top of that, sedate your patient? These guys show once again, that just because you are a doctor, it doesn't mean you are smart.

"Watson received twilight sedation"

Don't they always? I know that twilight sedation works. I know that hundreds of thousands of procedures are done every year on patients using this method with no complications. In fact, the article states that the same patient received twilight sedation just month earlier with no adverse effects. I do not fault dentists that use this method to help their patients receive the care they need. BUT, why take the chance. I compare this to getting implants placed in a patients mouth without having a CT scan done. Does it work? Yes. Is there minimal risk? Yes. Could that risk be reduced by having a CT scan done? Yes. So why put your patient in a higher risk category? Why put yourself, as the provider, in a position to be second guessed, when there is a better way out there. I know that twilight sedation works, but I also know that there are other alternatives out there that allow the dentist to do what he does best, and the anesthesiologist to do what they do best.

"It was done at the same location, but it's unclear whether it was the same dentists."

One more example of the ineptitude of these two doctors. There should never be any doubt what procedure was done, and by whom.

I feel bad for this woman and her family. I do not know the whole story, but as it is currently unfolding, it does not look good for these two doctors. I hope I will remember what has happened here and make sure that I take the steps in my practice prevent this from happening again.