Among the myriad emergencies that could arise in the dental clinical setting there are a few that occur occasionally despite being entirely preventable. Ingestion or aspiration of dental materials, appliances, or instruments comprises this category. Regardless of incidence, foreign body ingestion or aspiration episodes are recognized as potential complications in the specialty of orthodontics. Despite their infrequent occurrence, the morbidity from a single incident and the amount of specialty medical care that may be needed to manage such incidents is too high to ignore. There is also the associated risk of malpractice litigation given the fact that these incidents are preventable. At present, no clear guidelines exist regarding prevention of this emergency in practice. This article attempts to review relevant literature and aims to formulate certain recommendations based on best available evidence to minimize the incidence of such events, while also suggesting guidelines toward making their management more effective. A flow chart outlining management options and strategies to aid the clinician in the event of such an emergency is also presented.
Dental injuries are probably the most common orofacial injuries sustained during sports and play. Intrusion or intrusive luxations occur when the teeth are driven into the alveolus by an axially directed impact. This article describes the clinical case of an 8-year-old patient who suffered complete intrusive luxation of an immature permanent central incisor following an accident. An attempt at spontaneous re-eruption failed to facilitate re-emergence of the tooth beyond 2 mm. The recommended wait-and-see strategy in anticipation of spontaneous re-eruption should cease to be an option when no further elongation can be observed. Orthodontic extrusion or surgical re-positioning is a valid treatment alternative when the former fails. In this case, although the recommended time period for effecting orthodontic extrusion had elapsed, this procedure was undertaken successfully presumably owing to the application of controlled, biologically optimal forces. A review of the extruded tooth a year later revealed no clinical or radiographic signs of loss of vitality. This was confirmed radiographically by the completion of root development, an intact lamina dura and no evident signs of resorption.
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