Abstract
We report a case of buccal abscess caused by an impacted wisdom tooth in an extremely elderly person with malnutrition. The patient was a 94-year-old man, who complained that he had found it hard to open his mouth and that his cheek had been swollen for the previous 2 weeks. He had a shallow oral wound caused by an improperly fitting denture; however, the wound became infected. We performed incisional drainage of the abscess under local anesthesia. The swelling disappeared and he was able to open his mouth 55 mm. The elderly have a high risk of healing failure of injuries and it has been reported that infection in a host in a compromised state is severely intractable. This elderly patient was in a compromised state because of malnutrition. Cases such as this one will increase as the elderly population increases. Dentists need to consider the quality of life of patients with a longer life expectancy and should offer patients several treatment options before their general condition deteriorates.
Highlights
In recent years, the number of cases of elderly individuals with a deep abscess in the maxillofacial area because of tooth infection has increased [1]
We report a case of buccal abscess derived from an impacted wisdom tooth in a person of marked elderly age
He complained that he found it hard to open his mouth and that his cheek had been swollen for the previous 2 weeks. He had difficulty eating but could not gain admission to hospital. When his cheek became painful, he requested a house-call from the dental clinic through his family
Summary
The number of cases of elderly individuals with a deep abscess in the maxillofacial area because of tooth infection has increased [1]. Abscesses in these cases are sometimes related to impacted teeth and nonvital teeth [2,3,4]. It is not uncommon that dentures can cause stomatitis or even wounds, this is less likely to result in the formation of an abscess. We report a case of buccal abscess derived from an impacted wisdom tooth in a person of marked elderly age
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