An unusual case of small intestine perforation after the dental impression procedure

Abstract Accidental ingestion of a foreign body is a fairly common cause of patients presenting to hospital emergency departments. The foreign bodies that are accidentally swallowed by adults frequently include materials associated with dental procedures, most of which do not result in any complications. This paper presents the case of a 60-year-old female patient who presented to her GP because of increased abdominal pain. Conservative treatment was unsuccessful, so the patient was referred to the hospital with a suspected bowel obstruction. Diagnosis in the hospital revealed a perforation of the jejunum. The patient underwent emergency surgery and fragments of a cohesive substance were extracted from the bowel, which the patient associated with a dental impression procedure that was carried out 7 days earlier. However, chemical analysis of the extracted plastic fragments showed that they were parts of the silicone impression material used for so-called functional impressions used in the later stage of prosthesis preparation, not the alginate material used in the 1st stage. Analysis of the patient’s medical records and past medical history revealed a procedure completed 3 months earlier for another prosthesis and a condition following a hysterectomy for oncological reasons, together with numerous abdominal adhesions.