Subcutaneous emphysema secondary to dental treatment: case report

Abstract

Subcutaneous emphysema is a relatively rare complication of dental treatment, although increasingly due to the use of high pressure air instruments. Many cases go unrecognized or are misdiagnosed. Majority of patients with this complication resolve spontaneously after 5 to 10 days, however some can advance to potentially life-threatening complications. A case of subcutaneous emphysema during restorative procedure in a 52-year-old woman was treated in the Docent Odontological Clinic of the Frontera University is presented. The differential diagnosis and management of this condition is discussed. Our purpose is not to add one more case of emphysema to literature, but to show dentists that in simple restorative procedures using air pressure instruments, they could be exposed to this complication.