Open AccessRole of a dentist in comprehensive management of a comatose patient with post traumatic head injury and neuropathological chewing
Author(s) -
Sanjita Sharma,
Aditi Nanda,
Dheeraj Koli,
Sapna Daksh,
Mahesh Verma
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
indian journal of palliative care/indian journal of palliative care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.395
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1998-3735
pISSN - 0973-1075
DOI - 10.4103/0973-1075.132639
Subject(s) - mouthguard , medicine , dentistry , dental trauma , pathological , head and neck , head injury , mastication , orthodontics , surgery , pathology
Injury of the head and neck region can result in substantial morbidity. Comprehensive management of such patients requires team work of several specialties, including dentists. A young female patient with extensive loss of cranium and associated pathological chewing was referred to the dental department. The lost cranium was replaced by a custom-made, hand-fabricated cranioplast. Trauma due to pathological mastication was reduced by usage of a custom-made mouthguard. Favorable results were seen in the appearance of the patient and after insertion of the mouthguard as evidenced in good healing response. The intricate role of a dental specialist in the team to manage a patient with post traumatic head injury has been highlighted. The take away message is to make the surgical fraternity aware of the scope of dentistry in the comprehensive management of patients requiring special care.