ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 January 1981
Page Count: 6

Identification of a Foreign Body Using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis
Herschaft, EE
Associate professor of biomaterials and head of the department; associate professor of pathology; and associate professor of oral diagnosis, medicine, and radiology, Oral Pathology, and Oral Diagnosis, Louisiana State University School of Dentistry, La.

Gettleman, L
Associate professor of biomaterials and head of the department; associate professor of pathology; and associate professor of oral diagnosis, medicine, and radiology, Oral Pathology, and Oral Diagnosis, Louisiana State University School of Dentistry, La.

Carr, RF
Associate professor of biomaterials and head of the department; associate professor of pathology; and associate professor of oral diagnosis, medicine, and radiology, Oral Pathology, and Oral Diagnosis, Louisiana State University School of Dentistry, La.

(Received 18 April 1980; accepted 12 June 1980)

Abstract

A foreign object, presumably swallowed during a dental appointment, was recovered by using an esophagoscope and thought to be a piece of dental impression material, probably alginate. It was identified as being of nondental origin by means of visible light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the latter coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. Histologic examination revealed some amorphous crystalline material surrounded by parakeratin and exfoliated squamous cells. The material was essentially radiolucent. A known dental alginate impression material contained diatomaceous earth filler (siliceous shells of diatoms), but no microscopic symmetrical figures were seen in the foreign body. After dehydration, both materials were carbon-coated and observed in an SEM at 20 kV at magnifications up to 2000X. The spectrum of secondary X-rays produced by the scanning electron beam revealed only magnesium in the foreign body and mostly silicon in the dental alginate. There are no known dental products that contain magnesium as the only inorganic ingredient and so the foreign body is believed to be not of dental origin. The patient may have had an antacid or laxative having magnesium as a major ingredient in the stomach, and this may have been refluxed from the stomach after stimulation of the normal gag reflex during the dental procedure.

Keywords:
odontology, radiography, foreign bodies, dental impression material, dental alginate material, magnesium compounds, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive, X-ray analysis

Paper ID: JFS11329J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11329J
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