Dad of three, Neville Gillespie, has died after having ten teeth removed at his dentist. The fifty-three-year-old attended his appointment at Tiverton Dental Centre for the planned removal of four teeth. The dentist who performed the extractions, Dr Roya Doane, suggested that it may save the patient time if she removed a further four teeth, to which Mr Gillespie agreed and he then suggested another two that were causing him pain.
A few hours after the extractions, Mr Gillespie returned to the dental centre with complaints that his mouth would not stop bleeding. The patient was sent away from the practice with cotton wool to curb the bleeding and advised not to spit the bloody out, as this would hinder clotting. Unfortunately, just hours later, Mr Gillespie’s brother and house mate, Harold Gillespie, found his sibling slumped and covered in blood. Harold raised the alarm by calling emergency services and was talked through how to administer CPR, but sadly was unable to resuscitate his brother.
The inquest was held this week at Devon County Hall, Exeter, where the post mortem revealed that Mr Gillespie died from aspiration of blood and bleeding as a result of the extractions. It was also revealed that the patient was already taking the drug Clopidogrel at the time of the extractions, which is a blood thinning agent. Due to this it would have made it difficult for Mr Gillespie’s blood to clot in order to promote the healing of his empty sockets. After hearing all the evidence, the coroner gave the verdict of death by misadventure, and Dr Doane was found not to have been negligent.