Thoracic complications of dental surgical procedures: hazards of the dental drill

Abstract

Case reports: Dental surgical procedures occasionally result in intrathoracic complications that may subsequently be encountered by clinicians. We report four patients with such complications, including pneumomediastinum, fatal descending necrotizing mediastinitis, and Lemierre's syndrome. In each of these patients, the commonly used dental handpiece with exhausted air directed to the working drill point was an important, but unrecognized, predisposition to their intrathoracic complication.

Conclusion: Clinicians should be aware of the spectrum of these problems and, in particular, of the potential hazards of pressurized nonsterile air blown into open surgical sites by the dental drill.