Warnings - written is always best

Abstract

An inferior dental block injection was administered to a 17-year-old who required the emergency extraction of his lower right molar tooth. The patient was advised not to bite his lip as he may not feel it due the numbing effects of the local anaesthetic. When the dentist returned to the surgery he noticed that the patient's lip was swollen, but that the lip mucosa was intact. He suggested that the patient must have bitten his lip and warned him against doing this again. Following the extraction of the tooth, the dental assistant repeated the same warning before the patient was dismissed. Two hours later the dentist received a call from the Casualty Department of the local hospital to report that the patient had presented to them with a swollen lip and that part of the lower lip tissue was missing. The injury was subsequently repaired by a plastic surgeon and after six months a small scar remained.