Evaluating clinical features, complications and treatment of odontogenic infections

Abstract

Treatment of odontogenic infections is one of the important issues in ENT as well as dentistry. Accurate and timely identification of clinical signs and symptoms of this disease is also important in proper treatment and reduction of side effects. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical manifestations, complications and treatment of odontogenic infections. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, after receiving ethical approval from the Regional Committee on Bioethics in Human Research, the files of patients referred to the ENT and maxillofacial clinic and wards from 2016 to 2020 with diagnosed odontogenic infections have been collected and the necessary information was recorded using a pre-prepared form. Patients' information including age, sex, etiology of infection, involved teeth, involved spaces, treatment received (antibiotics, drainage), signs and symptoms of physical examination, hospitalization and duration of hospitalization, and complications were recorded and analyzed descriptively. Results: In this study, 22 patients with odontogenic infections were studied with a mean age of 38.32 ± 17.15 years and 68.2% of them were men. 18.2% of patients had diabetes. The most common decayed teeth were in mandibular molar and premolars. The most common clinical manifestation of infection in these patients was pain in all patients and then neck swelling with a prevalence of 63.6% and the most common spaces involved were submandibular and parapharyngeal spaces with a prevalence of 45.5% and 22.7%, respectively. All patients received antibiotic treatment and underwent surgery in 86.4% of cases. The mean length of hospital stay was 6.86 ± 2.96 days and none of the patients had complications.