Wisdom teeth extractions have become routine surgical procedures for children and teenagers, as more studies reveal numerous health risks posed by the third molars. 

The parents of a Maryland teen who died earlier this year during wisdom tooth surgery have sued the oral surgeon and the anesthesiologist for medical malpractice. Now they are asking how their daughter could have died during a procedure performed on over 5 million Americans per year.

Jenny Olenick, a 17-year-old high school junior from Maryland, died from complications during the outpatient procedure in April.

The civil suit, filed in Howard Country Circuit Court, claims the oral surgeon, Dr. Domenick Coletti, and the anesthesiologist, Dr. Krista Michelle Isaacs, were negligent and failed to resuscitate Olenick after her heart rate and blood oxygen level dropped.

The civil suit raises questions about whether the procedure is actually as necessary as some organizations say and whether the risk of surgery, and having your wisdom teeth removed, really outweighs the benefits.

An investigation by the state’s chief medical examiner ruled the cause of Olenick’s death to be hypoxia — oxygen deprivation while she was anesthetized.

This isn’t the first instance of death resulting from wisdom teeth removal surgery. Another teen, 14-year-old Ben Ellis, died this December the day after undergoing the same procedure.

Now doctors that review medical research are encouraging doctors to monitor the progression of a child’s wisdom teeth instead of immediately jumping into surgery.

By: South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer Pete Strom