• Rasmus Ejlersgaard Christensen, Josefine S Baekgaard, and Lars S Rasmussen.
• Department of Anaesthesia, Centre of Head and Orthopaedics, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2019 Sep 1; 63 (8): 993-1000.

BackgroundDental injuries may occur during general anaesthesia, especially during airway management. The aim of this study was to describe cases of dental injury related to general anaesthesia, focusing on the type and extent of the injuries as well as the timing of recognition.MethodWe reviewed the nationwide electronic database available at the Danish Patient Compensation Association and scrutinized all claims classified as possible dental injuries in relation to general anaesthesia between 2007 and 2017.ResultsDuring the 10-year study period, there were 2523 claims for compensation related to anaesthesia. Of these, 552 (21.9%) were cases of possible dental injuries following general anaesthesia. The most commonly injured teeth were the central maxillary incisors with 174 (25.3%) cases related to the left and 118 (17.2%) cases related to the right incisor. The most common injuries were fractures (41.2%) and subluxations (25.9%). Airway management included the use of Macintosh laryngoscope in 296 (64.4%) cases and a supraglottic airway device in 69 (15%) cases. Claims were more frequently approved if more than two intubation attempts were used (100% vs 82.8%, RR = 0.83, 95% CI [0.78-0.88], P = 0.0037). Injuries recognized in-hospital were more frequently approved than injuries recognized after discharge (91.6% vs 70.7%, RR = 0.83, 95% CI [0.70-0.86], P < 0.0001).ConclusionThe most commonly reported dental injury related to general anaesthesia in the Danish Patient Compensation Association database was a fracture. Claims were more frequently approved if more than two intubation attempts were used and if the injury was recognized in-hospital.© 2019 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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