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Wrong tooth extraction (WTE)

Representation of lower dental arch

The dental section, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), in collaboration with Welsh Government carried out a survey on extraction of the wrong tooth in primary care dental services in Wales.

A total of 380 responses were received from dentists and therapists, which identified a number of common themes which led to WTE, including:

  • orthodontic extractions – failure to check previous extractions / communications with orthodontists. In this survey orthodontic extractions accounted for around 50% of WTE
  • failure of communication between clinicians, including use of different tooth notation systems.

Please see files below to view the full report and further information regarding the results of the WTE survey.

As a useful tool to complement the findings of the survey, the Dental Section, HEIW in collaboration with 1000 live Public Health Wales (PHW) has produced a mouthcare pre-extraction checklist for use in practice. Please click on the links below to download the document in your preferred language. You will also find a link below to a broader overview on this tool along with guidelines from the British Orthodontic Society referenced in the overview.

We hope this checklist proves useful in minimising the risk of wrong tooth extraction.