A 4-year-old fell while brushing. The toothbrush was still in the mouth, and it kept going. Surgeons found the head of the brush buried in the soft tissue medial to the right mandibular ramus, the vertical plate of jawbone that runs up toward the ear.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons reported the case in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Their framing is blunt: toothbrushing is a seemingly harmless daily task that can have dire consequences if trauma occurs while the brush is in the mouth. Their report dwells less on the object than on what surrounds it.
