Medical emergencies in a dental office: inhalation and ingestion of orthodontic objects.

Background: The authors reviewed the literature regarding inhalation and ingestion of orthodontic appliances and suggest ways to manage and prevent these events.

Types Of Studies Reviewed: The authors conducted literature searches of free text and Medical Subject Headings terms by using PubMed and Embase databases and selected appropriate studies. They analyzed retrieved articles according to several parameters: inhalation or ingestion event, number of cases, patient's sex and age, type of orthodontic appliance, in-office event or out-of-office event, and medical treatment.

Results: The authors found a total of 2,279 articles in their preliminary search. Eighteen reports of 24 cases from this search met all of the search criteria (that is, clinical studies, case reports or reviews limited to English, Hebrew or Arabic on any form of aspiration or inhalation of orthodontic appliances). Most cases (67 percent) involved ingested objects, and of those cases, the majority (57 percent) occurred in female patients. Most cases (85 percent) occurred outside the orthodontist's office. Seventeen patients (71 percent) had been treated with a fixed orthodontic appliance. In 60 percent of cases, the maxilla was involved. With one exception, no severe complications were reported (only seven patients were examined in a hospital emergency department), and patients were discharged uneventfully from the orthodontic office or emergency department.

Clinical Implications: Orthodontists and team members should participate in medical emergency management courses that emphasize the use of guidelines in cases of inhalation or ingestion of orthodontic objects. Each orthodontist's office should develop written emergency protocols for out-of-office events and present them to patients and their parents at the start of treatment.