PeterNBiddle
Contributor
There are plenty of bugs in the open ocean too. Vibrio comes to mind right away. There are also less virulent bacteria that, sutured up in a wound, can nevertheless cause havoc. A long soak in salt water doesn't necessarily wash out bacteria that could have been driven deep into the wound by a tooth. Even dumping betadine on it is no guarantee. At the very least I hope he sutured it partly closed so it could drain, then prescribed himself a course of prophylactic antibiotics. I say again, this makes for a good story, but don't try it at home. Best regards, DDM
Every article we read about diving accidents is riddled with inaccuracies about diving. Why are we assuming that medicine is any different? The account of his stitching it up is probably inaccurate, not fully reported and simplified to make a better story.
For all we know he irrigated it with 10 liters of bottled water and a liter of antiseptic before sewing it up, and topped it off with some penicillin.