title: Dental fracture and chocolate candies: case report.
abstract: A complaint by a customer to a food company claimed that the consumption of a chocolate candy fractured his anterior teeth, due to its hard consistency. Fragments of the fractured teeth and the chocolate candy that supposedly caused it were collected, examined and photographed. Fragments presented caries, large restorations, and suggested previous endodontic treatment. To evaluate causation, the food company requested a laboratory analysis, which simulated the human bite on chocolate candies of the same brand. Human teeth were assembled in a simulating device of masticatory functions of apprehension and incision. Teeth used were either sound or with non-restored endodontic accesses, to simulate previous conditions of the collected fragments. Twenty chocolate candies, cooled in a freezer to 0 °C for 2 h were used as test foods, and were positioned between the teeth of the device at the moment of the test. The set was put in a dynamometer, programmed to apply increasing forces (rate of advance of 5 mm/min), until rupture (either of the specimen or of the teeth). The applied force, in N, at the time of fracture was recorded and analyzed. The average force to fracture the test food was 233.23 N. No tooth was fractured in the experiment. Forces ranging from 191.3 to 275.2 N, applied to chocolate candies were not sufficient to neither fracture human teeth nor cause any structural damage. It was concluded that the dental fracture occurred because of previous oral health conditions of the customer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, 2227 Professor Lineu Prestes Av., Cidade Universitária, Butantã, São Paulo-SP CEP 05508-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodolfo Francisco Haltenhoff
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Melani
authors.forename: Miriam Lacalle
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Turbino
authors.forename: Dalton Luiz de Paula
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Antônio Carlos
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bombana
authors.forename: Paulo Eduardo Miamoto
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Dias
mesh_terms: D002182:Candy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D035881:Compensation and Redress / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D008192:Deception; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000150:complications; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000009:adverse effects; D006244:Hardness; D006245:Hardness Tests / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing; D014082:Tooth Fractures / Q000209:etiology*