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World J Stomatol. Nov 20, 2015; 4(4): 137-140
Published online Nov 20, 2015. doi: 10.5321/wjs.v4.i4.137
Retrieving dental instruments through endoscopy: A literature review
Rhonan Ferreira Silva, Ademir Franco, Fernando Fortes Picoli, Mayara Barbosa Viandelli Mundim, Livia Graziele Rodrigues
Rhonan Ferreira Silva, Fernando Fortes Picoli, Mayara Barbosa Viandelli Mundim, Livia Graziele Rodrigues, Department of Stomatological Sciences, Forensic Odontology, Federal University of Goiás, Goiás 74690-900, Brazil
Rhonan Ferreira Silva, Fernando Fortes Picoli, Department of Forensic Odontology and Anthropology, Scientific Police of Goiás, Goiás 74425-030, Brazil
Ademir Franco, Department of Stomatology, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Paraná 80215-901, Brazil
Author contributions: All the authors contributed equally to the manuscript, developing the research design e performance, interpreting data, writing and drafting the text.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors (Rhonan Ferreira Silva, Ademir Franco, Fernando Fortes Picoli, Mayara Barbosa Viandelli Mundim, Livia Graziele Rodrigues) declare that they have no conflict of interest with the publication of the present research.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Rhonan Ferreira Silva, DDS, MSc, PhD, Professor, Department of Stomatological Sciences, Forensic Odontology, Federal University of Goiás, Praça Universitaria s/nº, Setor Universitario, Goiás 74690-900, Brazil. rhonanfs@terra.com.br
Telephone: +55-62-32096051 Fax: +55-62-32096051
Received: June 16, 2015
Peer-review started: June 20, 2015
First decision: August 14, 2015
Revised: September 22, 2015
Accepted: October 16, 2015
Article in press: October 19, 2015
Published online: November 20, 2015
Abstract

Clinical accidents involving dental instruments and materials inside the oral cavity are reported in the medical literature. Specifically, ingestion and aspiration of foreign bodies have greater prevalence in the routine of medicine and dentistry. Despite being less harmful than aspirations, the accidental ingestion of dental instruments does not always culminate in favorable prognoses. Mostly, complex conditions require medical intervention through endoscopy or surgical approaches. The present research aims to review the literature pointing out the specialties of dentistry most involved with accidental ingestion of dental instruments, highlighting the important role of endoscopy for accurately locating and retrieving foreign bodies. Prosthodontics, operative dentistry, orthodontics, and maxillofacial surgery arose as the specialties in which these accidents are more prevalent. Based on that, general dentists and specialists must be aware for the essential care to avoid such clinical accidents, as well as to know the available tools, such as endoscopy, to overcome these situations in the routine of dentistry.

Keywords: Endoscopy, Accidents, Dental instruments, Foreign bodies

Core tip: An effort should be made to avoid breaking dental instruments by preventing their over-use and over-stress. Rubber dams should always be used for hygiene control and to prevent patients from swallowing instruments. When the use of a rubber dam is not possible, dental instruments should be secured with wires to help avoid and accomplish retrieval. All parts of broken instruments must be retrieved immediately following breakage. If ingested broken instrument parts cannot be retrieved, the patient should be referred for a medical opinion.