Parapharyngeal Schwannoma of the Mandibular Nerve Associated With Auditory Changes.

We present a case of a parapharyngeal schwannoma of the mandibular nerve with intraosseous extension into the mandible. The initial symptoms included decreased auditory acuity, with subsequent magnetic resonance imaging findings suggestive of Eustachian tube obstruction. This represents a rare symptom of schwannomas of the mandibular nerve. Owing to the degree of bony expansion and cortical thinning of the adjacent mandibular ramus, concern existed for a pathologic fracture. Treatment involved complete excision of the lesion using hemimandibulectomy with second stage reconstruction. The patient noted resolution of the preoperative symptoms. No sign of recurrence of the schwannoma was noted at the 2-year mark.

Dexmedetomidine sedation for awake fiberoptic intubation of patients with difficult airways due to severe odontogenic cervicofacial infections.

PURPOSE: Odontogenic infections present challenging airway scenarios to surgeons and anesthesiologists. Among specialists, there is controversy over airway management for those patients with airways made difficult by trismus and swelling with anatomic impingement and derangement. Awake fiberoptic intubation has achieved favor in the oral and maxillofacial surgery and anesthesiology communities for management of such difficult airways, but patient comfort and anxiety management with traditional agents may prove hazardous because of potential suppression of protective mechanisms and respiratory depression. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three cases are presented showing the utility and safety of the use of dexmedetomidine sedation for presurgical airway instrumentation and insertion in patients with challenging airways because of severe cervicofacial odontogenic infections. RESULTS: Dexmedetomidine administration provided safe and effective sedation and anxiolysis for awake fiberoptic airway instrumentation and airway insertion in patients presenting with severe cervicofacial infections with difficult airways because of anatomic obstruction. CONCLUSIONS: Dexmedetomidine sedation is advocated for use in awake fiberoptic intubation of patients with cervicofacial infections and difficult airways because of its ability to provide sedation, analgesia, reversible anterograde amnesia, and anxiolysis without impairment of protective reflexes, respiratory depression, or hemodynamic compromise. One of the most significant challenges facing oral and maxillofacial surgeons is the difficult airway. Anatomically compromised airways present unique clinically daunting situations to both surgeon and anesthesiologist, who are both charged with the provision of safe, effective preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative airway management. Among these conditions, odontogenic infections and patients with head and neck trauma, temporomandibular disorders, orofacial tumors, and severe craniofacial anomalies present for surgical treatment by the oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

The role of automated external defibrillators in dental practice.

Dental practices are seeing an increasing number of elderly and medically compromised patients, making it likely that staff will be called upon to respond to medical emergencies in the office, including cardiac arrest. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests account for nearly half of all cardiovascular deaths in the United States. In adult cardiac arrest victims, the most frequent cause of sudden cardiac arrest is ventricular dysrhythmia, either ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. The survival rate for sufferers of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests is a dismal 1% to 5% to hospital discharge. A majority of people who survive to discharge sustain significant morbidity. Untreated ventricular fibrillation degenerates into asystole, which is often refractory to resuscitative efforts and represents a terminal event. The development and availability of the automated external defibrillator (AED) represents a promising advance in the pre-hospital early defibrillation of victims of sudden cardiac arrest in a variety of settings, often remote from hospitals or EMS personnel. Given the medically compromised segment of the population treated in many dental practices today, it is imperative that dental practitioners and allied health providers become trained in the recognition and prompt initiation of emergency care, including basic life support with early defibrillation. The AED is becoming more accessible, with increasingly widespread availability, training in its use and relative ease of operation, making the goal of increased survival one in which dental health professionals can play a part.

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor associated with the anterior mandible: a case report and review of the literature.

Neuroectodermal tumors may arise in many places throughout the body including the diverse tissues of the head and neck. The primitive neuroectodermal tumor is a predominately neural, nonepithelial neoplasm similar to Ewing sarcoma. This article describes an 18-year-old female patient with a highly malignant peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor located in the soft tissue anterior to the mandibular symphysis. The clinical and radiographic presentation as well as the histopathology and immunohistochemistry of this rare entity is discussed. A review of the literature with respect to this tumor, as well as the current management of this tumor, is presented.

Review of antihypertensive agents for the dental clinician.

Hypertension remains a major health problem in modern society. Untreated or undertreated hypertension is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality owing [table: see text] to chronic complications such as cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease and renal disease. Comorbidities for cardiovascular disease include diabetes, renal insufficiency and a family history of premature cardiovascular events. Additive risk factors include age, elevated serum lipids, smoking and obesity. Dental clinicians are often in the unique position of having greater numbers of patient contacts than primary physicians and, as such, should maintain constant vigilance for detection and referral of undiagnosed hypertension. It is imperative that clinicians gain familiarity with the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of hypertension to provide safe and effective dental treatment for this vast segment of the population. Dentists should also be familiar with early signs and symptoms of hypertension-associated cardiovascular complications and be prepared to make prompt medical referral. Familiarity with the new diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines for hypertension on the part of dental practitioners may serve to make achievement of the goals of early recognition, treatment and improved control of hypertension more feasible.