A Minnesota dentist’s license has been temporarily suspended after a teen who had her wisdom teeth extracted died as a result of complications from the procedure.

The Minnesota Board of Dentistry stated in the order for immediate suspension issued Jan. 29 that Edina dentist Paul Tompach’s "continued practice would present an imminent risk of harm." The document claims Tompach "failed to provide appropriate oral surgery care" for a teen having her four wisdom teeth removed.

Additionally, Bridgett Anderson, the board’s executive director, told the Star Tribune on Monday that Tompach allowed a dental assistant who didn’t have state-required course work and certification to monitor the teen as she was receiving anesthesia.



When NBC Chicago reached out to Tompach, a person at his office said they would not be offering a comment on the suspension.

Sydney Galleger, 17, had just finished her junior year in high school when she went to have her wisdom teeth removed last June at Tompach's Edina office, according to NBC affiliate KARE.

Her mother wrote in a post on CaringBridge, a nonprofit that offers free websites to discuss health issues, everything was going well until the very end, when Sydney's blood pressure shot up, her pulse dropped and she went into cardiac arrest. She later died at a local hospital.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled that Galleger died from anoxic encephalopathy, or a lack of oxygen to the brain, caused when she suffered cardiac arrest, according to KARE.

The dentistry board is expected to vote Thursday on a "final stipulation order" to which regulators and Tompach have agreed, though details have not been released.

According to a 2007 article in the American Journal of Public Health, about 5 million people have their wisdom teeth removed each year. Experts say the procedure requires anesthesia, which comes with inherent risks.