Illinois Man Accidentally Swallows Dentist Drill Bit

An Illinois man ends up with a drill bit lodged in his lung as he just lived everybody's worst dentist office nightmare.

Important Note: This story will likely trigger people that already have an unhealthy fear of going to the dentist.  It's important to keep in mind that dental health and heart health go hand in hand.  Regular dentist visits are important.

As if going to the dentist isn't scary enough, this story out of Illinois is enough to make your teeth pack up and move out on their own.  A 60-year-old Illinois man was just getting the very common procedure done to fill a cavity when the unthinkable happened.  The dental patient swallowed the 1-inch drill bit.  Well, he didn't really swallow it, he inhaled it.

The man had a very rare surgery to remove the drill bit from deep inside his lung.  This guy was walking around with a dental instrument lodged in his lung for 4 days previous to this surgery.  The 60-year-old dental patient has fully recovered from surgery.  The dental drill bit was successfully removed from his lung and he now keeps it on a shelf at his home as a memento.  You can see the drill bit in the video below.

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Believe it or not, this is NOT the first time this has happened.  In fact, it's not the first time it's happened in the Midwest according to Newsweek,

Alraiyes says he has subsequently heard from colleagues in Michigan and Ohio who told him they had also dealt with cases where patients had accidentally swallowed drill bits.

This has happened in Michigan?  I regret reading that.