Case Report Tooth fragment embedded in the lower lip after dental trauma: case reports One of the most frequent facial traumas corres- ponds to the damage caused to the teeth and their support structures. These traumas may be the result of many factors, such as: falls, assaults, traffic, sports and work accidents and others. In regards to these factors, falls account for the most frequent incident (1–3). A proper diagnosis and care of dental injuries is a considerable factor in the comprehensive practice of dentistry. The appropriate initial attendance of patients suffering dental trauma is an important component, mainly in children and adolescents, because of the physical and emotion involvement of both the patient and their family (4). This is particularly true if the maxillary anterior dentition is involved because the patient’s esthetics may be temporarily affected. The occurrence of dental trauma depends on the impact energy and direction of the causal agent, on the location of the incidence and on the health of support structures from the involved teeth. Many studies have suggested the higher prevalence of the incisors traumas among child- hood and adolescence (5), which can range from 10 to 20%, according to sex and age of patients (6–8). The reason for the increased vulnerability of the maxillary incisors is because of the projection of anterior teeth and to the short labial lip that do not protect adequately these teeth. These risk factors should be considered in the incidence and severity of these traumas, as they can range from concussion to tooth loss (2). The incisors, particularly when fractured, are quite often the cause of laceration of soft tissue at the time of trauma. When soft tissue is lacerated, attention should be paid to fractured or missing teeth. If laceration and bleeding make the clinical examination difficult, a simple soft tissue radiograph helps in the detection of included tooth fragments. The immediate attendance of patients suffering from dental trauma should also be considered, once it can be associated with a possible dental fragment inclusion in injured peripheral tissues and with facial fractures. This paper describes two cases of facial trauma in which the patients suffered concomitantly dental trauma involving teeth fractures. The aim of the reported cases was to point out the importance of Dental Traumatology 2005; 21: 115–120 All rights reserved Copyright Ó Blackwell Munksgaard 2005 DENTAL TRAUMATOLOGY 115 da Silva AC, de Moraes M, Bastos EG, Moreira RWF, Passeri LA. Tooth fragment embedded in the lower lip after dental trauma: case reports. Dent Traumatol 2005; 21: 115–120. Ó Blackwell Munksgaard, 2005. Abstract – Dental traumas are reasonably common, especially in children and adolescents. This report describes two cases in which dental fragments were embedded in the lip soft tissue. Radiographs confirmed the presence of this foreign-body, which were surgically removed under a local anesthesia. Early diagnosis and surgical removal of theses fragments could prevent undesirable foreign- body reaction and scarring. The need in such cases for taking routine facial soft tissue radiographs and chest rx-ray before stating treatment is emphasized. Alessandro Costa da Silva 1 , Ma ´rcio de Moraes 2 , Eider Guimara ˜es Bastos 3 , Roger William Fernandes Moreira 2 , Luis Augusto Passeri 2 1 Private Practice, Santos city; 2 Piracicaba Dental School, Unicamp, Piracicaba city; 3 Sa ˜o Luiz Dental School, UFMA, Sa ˜o Luiz city, Brazil Key words: dental fragments; lip; dental trauma; teeth fractures; inclusion Dr Ma ´rcio de Moraes, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba – UNICAMP, Departamento de Cirurgia e Traumatologia Buco-Maxilo-Faciais, Av. Limeira, 901 – Piracicaba – SP – Brasil, CEP: 13414-903 Tel.: 55 19 341 25324 Fax: 55 19 341 25218 e-mail: mmoraes@fop.unicamp.br Accepted 24 February, 2004