swallowed a dentist's screwdriver

[fa925]

I was having dental implants put in on Wednesday 10/1. Near the end of the procedure while the doctor was putting on a healing abutment, the small screwdriver he was using fell into my mouth and went down my throat. He didn't say anything initially because he said he was turned away, reaching or something and hadn't realized he dropped it. I sat up and grabbed for my throat and then he realized something was wrong. I went to the sink and tried to force myself to throw it up but that didn't work. He said not to worry that it would pass out of my body in a couple of days. I sat back down in the chair and he finished his work. What he told me later was that I had moved and that caused him to drop the screwdriver.

I asked him how much it cost. I remember he said around $100 and that if I was able to recover it he would knock $150 off the cost of the implant placement. I do have the screwdriver, it took 3 1/2 days to come out not the 24 to 48 hours that the dentist, a surgeon friend of his, a woman doctor on call at my doctor's office, and a nurse at the emergency room said.


I have a follow up on Wednesday... your thoughts / opinions please. Thank you

[lealea1005]

Originally Posted by fa925

I was having dental implants put in on Wednesday 10/1. Near the end of the procedure while the doctor was putting on a healing abutment, the small screwdriver he was using fell into my mouth and went down my throat. He didn't say anything initially because he said he was turned away, reaching or something and hadn't realized he dropped it. I sat up and grabbed for my throat and then he realized something was wrong. I went to the sink and tried to force myself to throw it up but that didn't work. He said not to worry that it would pass out of my body in a couple of days. I sat back down in the chair and he finished his work. What he told me later was that I had moved and that caused him to drop the screwdriver.

I asked him how much it cost. I remember he said around $100 and that if I was able to recover it he would knock $150 off the cost of the implant placement. I do have the screwdriver, it took 3 1/2 days to come out not the 24 to 48 hours that the dentist, a surgeon friend of his, a woman doctor on call at my doctor's office, and a nurse at the emergency room said.

I have a follow up on Wednesday... your thoughts / opinions please. Thank you

Ummm, maybe your system works a little slower than other people's. You recovered the screwdriver and have no injuries. Return it to the Dentist on Wednesday and remind him that he agreed to discount your visit. Oh, and you may want to add some fiber to your diet.

[lya]

I just want to say, thank you for posting such an interesting event!

Now, give the man back his screwdriver and enjoy the discounted services!

[las365]

I say you should only give the screwdriver back if he promises to NEVER put it into another patient's mouth! I don't care how well he cleans it.

[You Are Guilty]

I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that he wanted it back. But beyond that, I'm curious-but-don't-really-want-to-know how it was, uh, "retrieved".

Great first post though. Shame we're not giving out awards anymore.

[las365]

But beyond that, I'm curious-but-don't-really-want-to-know how it was, uh, "retrieved".

Oh, I think we know how. Owwww.

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by las365

Oh, I think we know how. Owwww.

Which begs the question, was it returned to the dentist in the same condition it was uh, "retrieved" in?

[barry1817]

Originally Posted by fa925

I was having dental implants put in on Wednesday 10/1. Near the end of the procedure while the doctor was putting on a healing abutment, the small screwdriver he was using fell into my mouth and went down my throat. He didn't say anything initially because he said he was turned away, reaching or something and hadn't realized he dropped it. I sat up and grabbed for my throat and then he realized something was wrong. I went to the sink and tried to force myself to throw it up but that didn't work. He said not to worry that it would pass out of my body in a couple of days. I sat back down in the chair and he finished his work. What he told me later was that I had moved and that caused him to drop the screwdriver.

I asked him how much it cost. I remember he said around $100 and that if I was able to recover it he would knock $150 off the cost of the implant placement. I do have the screwdriver, it took 3 1/2 days to come out not the 24 to 48 hours that the dentist, a surgeon friend of his, a woman doctor on call at my doctor's office, and a nurse at the emergency room said.


I have a follow up on Wednesday... your thoughts / opinions please. Thank you

Accidents do happen, and you were lucky to pass the instrument without problems.

I am surprised that he let you leave without x-rays to confirm where the instrument was. And I am surprised that he was so cavalier about this.

I would accept his offer, with a caveat, and give him the instrument back. As to not using again, once it is washed and sterilized it won't be a problem for future use.

The caveat is that you don't know if the instrument may have lacerated any intestinal tisse that may not show up at present, and you have make sure that it didn't

[lya]

Originally Posted by barry1817

I would accept his offer, with a caveat, and give him the instrument back....The caveat is that you don't know if the instrument may have lacerated any intestinal tisse that may not show up at present, and you have make sure that it didn't

Excellent point and advice!

[fa925]

Originally Posted by barry1817

Accidents do happen, and you were lucky to pass the instrument without problems.

I am surprised that he let you leave without x-rays to confirm where the instrument was. And I am surprised that he was so cavalier about this.

I would accept his offer, with a caveat, and give him the instrument back. As to not using again, once it is washed and sterilized it won't be a problem for future use.

The caveat is that you don't know if the instrument may have lacerated any intestinal tisse that may not show up at present, and you have make sure that it didn't

I haven't been to my doctor but I called their office after hours the day it happened. The woman doctor on call basically said I was crazy for even thinking about looking through my poop. If I wasn't having any medical problems then I would be doing more harm to myself worrying about it, that the screwdriver would pass and let it be. A Nurse at my local hospital's emergency room said not to worry too, but to keep an eye out for any blood in the stool.

I wanted to have peace of mind that it wasn't stuck inside me.



Here's the screwdriver, it is small but does have a star shaped end to it...

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2223/toolju8.jpg

[CraigFL]

I would have gone to the emergency room immediately so they could have retrieved it from my stomach. Passing it through could have perforated your bowel so you're lucky you aren't dead or still trying to recover from peritonitis...

[barry1817]

Originally Posted by CraigFL

I would have gone to the emergency room immediately so they could have retrieved it from my stomach. Passing it through could have perforated your bowel so you're lucky you aren't dead or still trying to recover from peritonitis...

Your comment is exactly why I had mentioned the dentist was being too casual about the situation, and why one must follow this situation for a time to make sure that all is well.

Based on the size on these screwdrivers, I doubt that a major surgery would have been scheduled to remove it. But that is why precautions are taken.

[mbronto]

A dentist should never place a small object in your mouth without a safety net (like a cotton square) to prevent just such an occurence. Sometimes these little objects don't go down the esophagus. Sometimes they go down the trachea, and if not retrieved immediately, it can result in EXTREMELY unpleasant treatment (namely: cracking the chest open to retrieve the item from your lungs). Believe it or not, you can have a pretty substantial object lodged near your lungs and not feel the urge to cough or sense a problem at all.

Unfortunately, I have seen this occur with teeth being extracted and slipping out of forceps, crowns being cemented and dropping, root canal instruments and other small objects. The responsible thing to do was to have you go to the hospital for a chest x-ray to verify it was, indeed, in your stomach. Then an *MD* should have made the call about whether to retirive it or let it pass. If something happened to you long-term, the dentist may have had to bear a great deal of responsibility for it.
I would even go so far as to say that placing little objects in the mouth without some safety line on them or saftey net under them is below the standard of care.

[justalayman]

I asked him how much it cost. I remember he said around $100 and that if I was able to recover it he would knock $150 off the cost of the implant placement.

were you thinking the dentist was going to charge you for the screwdriver?.

as to re-use after sterilization; there are myriad medical instruments subjected to the same "material" that are sterilized and re-used all the time. I would not want to know that as he was placing it in my mouth but the facts remain.

mbronto: very good post.

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by justalayman

as to re-use after sterilization; there are myriad medical instruments subjected to the same "material" that are sterilized and re-used all the time.

Remind me never to use your dentist!!