Traumatic pharyngeal displacement of a full maxillary denture: Case report

Abstract Foreign body aspiration has been commonly reported in the medical and dental literature. During infancy and childhood, asphyxiation is more often due to foodstuffs than other objects. 1 Aspiration of nonfood objects in the adult population constitutes a higher proportion overall, 2 and dental foreign bodies in this group have been reported to range from 3.6% to 27.7% in an extensive literature review of this subject. 3 The pharyngeal displacement of small objects such as endodontic reamers and crowns tends to occur during dental treatment, 2–4 whereas dentures and orthodontic appliances are more often displaced during mastication or sleep. 5,6 Maxillofacial trauma is a further well recognized cause of foreign body aspiration. Prosthodontic appliances can be dislodged and become impacted in the upper airway 7,8 and may, on occasion, precipitate a fatal outcome. 9 The following case report describes the management of a patient with a full maxillary denture traumatically displaced into the pharynx.