Accidental ingestion of BiTine ring and a note on inefficient ring separation forceps

Endoscopic retrieval of an accidentally ingested bur during a dental procedure: a case report

Background

Accidental ingestion of a dental bur during the dental procedure is a rare, but a potentially serious complication. Early recognition and foreign body retrieval is essential to prevent adverse patient outcomes.

Case presentation

A 76-year old male patient, presented to the department with a chief complaint of sensitivity in his upper right back tooth due to attrition. After assessing the pulp status, root canal therapy was planned for the tooth. During the procedure, it was noticed that the dental bur slipped out of the hand piece and the patient had accidentally ingested it. The patient was conscious and had no trouble while breathing at the time of ingestion of the bur although he had mild cough which lasted for a short duration. The dental procedure was aborted immediately and the patient was taken to the hospital for emergency care. The presence and location of the dental bur was confirmed using chest and abdominal x-rays and it was subsequently retrieved by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) procedure under general anaesthesia on the same day as a part of the emergency procedure. The analysis of this case reaffirms the importance of the use of physical barriers such as rubber dams and gauze screens as precautionary measures to prevent such incidents from occurring.

Conclusion

Ingestion of instruments are uncertain and hazardous complications to encounter during a dental procedure. The need for physical barrier like rubber dam is mandatory for all dental procedures. However, the dentist should be well trained to handle such medical emergencies and reassure the patient by taking them into confidence. Each incident encountered should be thoroughly documented to supply adequate guidance for treatment aspects. This would fulfil the professional responsibilities of the dentist/ clinician and may help avoid possible legal and ethical issues. This case report emphasizes on the need for the usage of physical barriers during dental procedures in order to avoid medical emergencies.

Thorough documentation of the accidental aspiration and ingestion of foreign objects during dental procedure is necessary: review and analysis of 617 cases

OBJECTIVES

To review the cases of accidental aspiration and ingestion of foreign objects during dental procedure, and to emphasize the importance of thorough documentation of the accidents.

METHODS

A comprehensive search on (dental procedure/treatment/practice), (aspiration/inhalation), and (ingestion/swallow) was performed for all years before 1st October 2014 available. The statistic analysis was made on the variables including journals and reported year, patients' age, gender, general conditions, dental procedure and location for procedure, foreign objects, site of involvement, possible causes, anesthesia during procedure and treatment, symptoms, treatment time and treatment modality, follow-up, and so on.

RESULTS

A total of 617 cases reported by 45 articles from 37 kinds of journals were included and analyzed. Most reports made detailed record. While some important variables were recorded incompletely, including patient's general conditions, location for procedure, clinical experience of the involving dentists, tooth position of procedure, possible causes, and anesthesia during procedure and treatment for the accident.

CONCLUSIONS

Aspiration and ingestion of foreign objects are rare and risky complication during dental procedure. Each accident should have thorough documentation so as to provide enough information for the treatment and prevention.