title: Case report: management of broken dental needles in practice.
abstract: Breakage of a dental needle is a rare but significant complication of local anaesthetic injections, which causes great anxiety for the patient and dental surgeon, and necessitates investigations and further treatment. It may have important medico-legal considerations. We describe a case where a dental needle broke during the routine administration of an inferior alveolar nerve block for a dental procedure. This broken needle subsequently migrated to the lateral aspect of the neck, confirming that these 'migrations' do occur. We discuss the various causes, and clinical and dentolegal implications, as well as methods of treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Medicine Dublin Dental School and Hospital Trinity College Dublin.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: Leo F A
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Stassen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D007267:Injections / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation; D008340:Mandibular Nerve; D009339:Needles / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009407:Nerve Block / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods