Poorly Maintained Electric Dental Handpieces May Cause Third Degree Burns
December 17th, 2007 amy
On December 13, the FDA informed healthcare professionals about serious patient injuries, including third degree burns, associated with the use of poorly maintained electric dental handpieces during dental procedures. Some patients had third degree burns which required plastic surgery. Burns may not be apparent to the operator or the patient until after the tissue damage occurred, because the anesthetized patient cannot feel the tissue burning and the handpiece housing insulates the operator from the heated attachment.
Although the reported burns occurred during the cutting of tooth and bone, tooth extraction and other dental surgical procedures, overheating can also occur during any dental procedure. This problem is not limited to dentistry. Rotary surgical handpieces can cause patient burns during orthopedic procedures, as reported in the July
2003 edition of FDA Patient Safety News
