Foreign Body Impaction in the Buccal Mucosa of a Child – A Case Report

Foreign bodies may be traumatically or iatrogenically embedded in the oral cavity. Traumatic impaction of foreign bodies intraorally in children is common, as they are playful and are unaware of the consequences. A case of traumatic penetration of glass shards in the cheek of a 10-year-old female child which is present for three years, and its management is discussed here and the importance of detailed case history, clinical and radiographic examinations in arriving at the diagnosis and planning the treatment are presented in this article. Foreign bodies are objects that are not native to the human body, and they may be ingested, inserted into a body cavity, or deposited into the body by traumatic or iatrogenic injury.[1] Traumatic foreign body impaction in oral cavity is mostly due to assaults and motor vehicle accidents[2] or sometimes may be due to blast injury. Foreign bodies generally in oral cavity may be broken instruments, restorative materials, needles etc., or may range from fish bones, coins, stapler pins, small toys, metal pieces which may be quite common in younger age groups.[3] The foreign bodies once impacted get localized and ensue fibrosis and host response depending on the type of the material impacted. They may cause swelling, abscess formation, septicaemia, or lead to severe haemorrhage; may also undergo distant embolization.[1] Here we report a case of traumatic penetration of glass shards into the buccal mucosa of a female child due to a blast injury which was there for three years without any major complaints.