Blindness due to tooth extraction

A driver in the West had to be hospitalized after having his tooth extracted at a private clinic. The doctor said he suffered from sepsis after the tooth extraction, severed the 3rd and 7th cranial nerves, and became blind.

On September 30, Mr. Le Thanh Huan - Chief Inspector of the Department of Health of Ben Tre province, said: The Department of Health Inspectorate has received a complaint from Mr. Pham Van Con (38 years old, residing in Ben Tre province) claiming that when he had his tooth extracted at a private clinic, he got an infection that led to blindness.

“The Department Inspectorate has assigned relevant units to organize mediation and negotiation between the two parties. If the mediation fails, the matter will continue to be handled according to regulations,” said Mr. Huan.

According to Mr. Con, two months ago he had a toothache so he went to Tam Duc Dental Clinic (Binh Hoa Hamlet, Binh Dai Town, Binh Dai District) and had his tooth number 6 in the upper jaw extracted by Dr. Phong - the clinic owner. However, after the tooth extraction, Mr. Con had a headache and a swollen jaw. The next day, Mr. Con returned to the clinic and the doctor gave him 3 days of medicine to take home.

Tam Duc Dental Clinic has closed and ceased operations. Photo MA

After that, the family took Mr. Con to Nguyen Dinh Chieu Hospital (Ben Tre province) for emergency treatment. Due to the serious condition, the patient was transferred to Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City for treatment. "The doctor at the hospital said I had sepsis after tooth extraction, severed cranial nerves number 3 and number 7, so my left eye is now permanently blind," Mr. Con said indignantly.

According to Mr. Con, the family contacted the clinic and the dentist said that the tooth and eye condition was due to an occupational accident, not the doctor's fault, and passed the responsibility.

“I work as a truck driver and earn nearly 10 million VND per month to support my family. Now I am blind, my jaw cannot move, my health is poor, so I am almost disabled. Not to mention the treatment cost for the whole month at the hospital is also tens of millions of VND but the clinic doctor did not ask me anything,” said Mr. Con.

Mr. Con was miserable because he went blind after having his tooth extracted. Photo MA

An official from the Binh Dai District Health Department said that half a month ago, Tam Duc Dental Clinic announced that it was ceasing operations due to the expiration of its lease and had to return the premises. “The Health Department has received a complaint from a patient who had their teeth extracted here and is working to resolve it,” said the official.

According to Zing