Aspirated tooth

Case contributed by Ghufran Aref Saeed
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Witnessed seizure and cardio-respiratory arrest. No history of trauma. He was admitted to ICU. Missing tooth noted after intubation.

Patient Data

Age: 45 years
Gender: Male
x-ray

Lateral neck x-ray: Partially visualized proximal aspect of nasogastric and endotracheal tubes.

There is a shadow of a tooth seen in the region of oropharynx between both tubes at the level of C2 (arrow).

Multiple loose upper jaw teeth with defect between the teeth noted.

Multilevel degenerative changes of the cervical spine.​

Case Discussion

Foreign body aspiration is more common in children. Tooth aspiration is more common post-traumatic and intubation. It is a critical finding requiring radiologists to inform the referring physician immediately. 

In this case, the tooth was removed under laryngoscopy. Tooth # 14 was extracted at the bedside to avoid the risk of re-aspiration.​

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