A recent case in eastern China has raised concerns about dental procedure safety. According to the South China Morning Post, a man surnamed Huang, underwent an extensive dental procedure on August 14 at Yongkang Deway Dental Hospital in Jinhua, Zhejiang province. The procedure involved extracting 23 teeth and inserting 12 implants in a single day using the “immediate restoration” method. Two weeks later, he suffered a sudden heart attack and died on August 28. The case was brought to light through an online post by his daughter Shu on September 2. 

Huang revealed that her father, whose age has not been disclosed, experienced persistent pain following the treatment. ”I never thought my dad would pass so quickly. He did not even get the chance to drive the new car we bought him,” stated his daughter.

In response to the incident, an official from the Yongkang Municipal Health Bureau stated on September 3 that the cause of death is still being investigated, citing the 13-day gap between the dental procedure and the man’s death. 

Three days later, a clinic staff member told SCMP ”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.”

According to Xiang Guolin, director of the Dental Medicine Centre at the Hospital of Universal Love in Wuhan, there are no established official guidelines for the maximum number of teeth that can be extracted in a single procedure. However, in general practice, the limit is typically considered to be around 10 teeth. 

”Extracting 23 teeth is quite a lot. It requires a clinic and dentist with sufficient qualifications and experience. It’s also essential to consider the patient’s physical capacity to handle such an extensive procedure,” he said.

Many social media users expressed shock and disbelief upon learning about the case. One person questioned the decision to extract 23 teeth in a single day, sharing their own experience of being refused by a dentist when requesting the removal of two wisdom teeth simultaneously. 

Another user wrote, ”I’m a dentist, and I never extract more than three teeth at one time unless they’re very loose. The doctor must have lost his mind. It sounds more like a human experiment than a dental procedure.”