A Neglected Risk Factor of Esophageal Foreign Body Ingestion in Adults: Complete Dentures
Authors
Alkin Yazicioglua, Erdal Yekelera, Serpil Karaoglanoglub, Ertan Aydinc and Ulku Yazicic aTurkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital, Thoracic Surgery and Lung Transplantation Center, Ankara, Turkey; b75th Year Dental Hospital, Ankara, Turkey; cAtaturk Chest Disease and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Ankara, Turkey
Aim: There are many reports on the ingestion of foreign bodies in the esophagus; however, little is known about complete dentures as a risk factor. Material and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analyses of 11 adult patients treated for suspected esophageal foreign body between March 2008 to December 2012. Results: Out of 11 patients, 45.5% (n = 5) were male and 54.5% (n = 6) were female, and with the mean age of 47. Esophageal foreign bodies were found and retrieved or pushed into the stomach in all cases. Bones (n = 9, 81.8%) were the most common ingested foreign body. Four patients (36.4%) had a history of using complete dentures and two patients (18.2%) had a single-tooth replacement. Of these patients, the most common location of the foreign body was in the first narrowing (n = 7, 63.6%), followed by the mid-third (n = 3, 27.3%). The duration of hospitalization ranged between 1 to 37 days (median: 3 days; mean: 6.3 days), one patient (9.1%) had a complication, an esophageal perforation. Conclusion: Edentulism is the result of repeated tooth extractions. It is estimated that 17% of the adult population has one-arc or two-arch edentulism and are candidates for complete dentures. Therefore, the fact that a finding of 36.4% of patients who were using complete dentures in esophageal foreign body patients greatly exceeds the general average. Thus, using complete dentures increases the frequency of esophageal foreign bodies and is one of the risk factors for such an occurrence.
