Dental aspiration in a pediatric patient: a case report

Foreign body aspiration is relatively common in children, especially in children younger than 3 years, and it is associated with a high incidence and mortality rate. Because of impairments in swallowing, speech, and vision, more caution regarding foreign body aspiration is required in children with abnormal nervous system development. This report describes a clinically rare case involving a 6-year-old patient with delayed brain development and epilepsy who was found to have a tooth in the bronchus of the left lung through fiberoptic bronchoscopy. The tooth was successfully removed by an extraction procedure. A follow-up examination showed that the patient had a sequela of left lower lobe atelectasis. This case indicates that greater caution is necessary regarding foreign body aspiration, including dental aspiration, in patients with abnormal development of the nervous system.