Sir, we read with great interest the letter Intubation litigation regarding the dangers of trauma to upper anterior teeth during intubation by anaesthetists.1 This has been a long standing problem for anaesthetists and as the author described, a common source of litigation.
We would like to highlight to the readers a technique we devised with an anaesthetic consultant colleague of ours in 2007 that was published in Anaesthesia, and well received in the anaesthetic world.2 It involves using silicone putty to protect the anterior teeth temporarily during placement of the laryngoscope.
It is simple to use for non-dentally trained physicians, cheap and extremely effective. It is now being regularly used by anaesthetists.
References
Esmail Z . Intubation litigation. Br Dent J 2010; 208: 274.
Collard B, Lee S, Azzopardi J . Silicone impression putty for protection of teeth during intubation. Anaesthesia 2007; 62: 1080–1081.
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Collard, B., Lee, S. & Azzopardi, J. Putty technique. Br Dent J 208, 550 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2010.549
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2010.549
