Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Odontogenic Infection of the Infratemporal Fossa: A Diagnostic Challenge
Alisha PaulA 48-year-old female presented to the emergency department with complaints of a progressively worsening sore throat and jaw stiffness. She gave a 3-day history of sudden onset of pain in the right...
Penetrating Mid-facial Injury from a Wooden Branch
Christina WilliamsThe most common aetiology of penetrating mid-face trauma has been found to be caused by accidental injury.2 The mid-face has been defined as the area between the zygomaticofrontal sutures and the...
When Occam's razor loses its edge: the simplest explanation isn't always correct
Máiréad HenniganA male patient, aged 11, reported to the accident and emergency department with a chief complaint of right-sided facial pain and swelling with increased jaw pain and associated trismus. The patient...
A delayed and difficult diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma: a case report
Pav ChanaA 47-year-old fit and well male patient, who was also a non-smoker, was initially referred on a two-week wait referral pathway after his GDP noted an unusual pattern of severe recession of the...
Background and complications of dermal fillers: the increasing use of non-surgical facial aesthetics in dental practice
Tanya AhmedThe use of paraffin and Vaseline injections to augment the face dates back to the 1800s. Their use was associated with many complications and so the search for safer, more reliable and biocompatible...
Dental implications of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in the management of head and neck cancer
Shir Lynn TanThe advent of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) signified a turning point for the treatment of oropharyngeal cancers and selected supraglottic and hypopharyngeal cancers. TORS is defined as surgery...
A Case of Mistaken Identity: The Importance of Recognizing Red Flag Symptoms
Amandeep BainsA 10-year-old female patient was referred to the local oral and maxillofacial (OMF) department owing to a large left-sided facial swelling. The patient gave a history of pain and tingling to the left...
Descending Necrotizing Mediastinitis: A Potential Consequence of Odontogenic Infection
Emma G WalshawThe term mediastinitis refers to either acute or chronic inflammation of the tissues within the middle thoracic cavity (mediastinum). The mediastinum contains important anatomical structures such as...
Cervical necrotizing fasciitis of odontogenic origin
Aaron ChaiA 42-year-old woman presented to the oral and maxillofacial team via accident and emergency with an initial complaint of a dental abscess from the lower left quadrant that had been present for the...
The root of the cause: a clinical case report of the surgical removal of a retained root via an extra-oral approach
Melissa LohRetained roots following dental extractions are not an uncommon finding. The ability of a dentist to appropriately refer the patient promptly into a secondary care setting is necessary2 to ensure the...
A pain in the neck: cervical lymphadenopathy in metastatic disease
Jaspreet VirdeeA 65-year-old Afro-Caribbean female patient was referred urgently to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) unit by her GDP during the the first national COVID-19 lockdown in England, for...
Not all swellings are dental abscesses: A cautionary tale
Prateek BiyaniA 48-year-old female patient presented to the emergency department with a right-sided facial swelling in November 2018. She described a 6-week history of persistent swelling, but reported a variably...
Garré's osteomyelitis of the jaw
Roya HazaraA 13-year-old boy presented in accident and emergency with a 3-week history of left-sided facial swelling. The presenting symptoms were pain, and trismus with a 20-mm interincisal distance mouth...
Bismuth Iodoform Paraffin Paste: History, Uses and Alternatives in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Gurpreet Kaur RandhawaBIPP was first used by Rutherford Morison in 1916 to dress soldiers' wounds.2 He found that when bismuth and iodoform were mixed with paraffin, it permitted a healing response and reduced infection...
Mouth Cancer: the Maxillofacial Surgeon's perspective
Alexander MC GoodsonGeneral dental practitioners play a key role in the detection and early management of oral cancer, referring approximately 40% of all cases to secondary care, as well as the post-treatment phase of...