In Japan, a 50-Year-Old Man Hospitalized Due to Tooth Brushing Incident

[Article déjà publié le 1er
août 2025]

An everyday object, the toothbrush embodies the innocence of routine gestures that we repeat without thinking about it. However, a simple fall or brief discomfort is enough to tip this routine into a medical emergency. Far from being an isolated case, the scenario where an accidental contact transforms this tool into a threat reveals the unsuspected vulnerability of certain anatomical areas. Recent clinical cases precisely document how the seemingly harmless toothbrush can become a vector of serious complications when it penetrates the internal tissues of the neck or pharynx.

When a simple discomfort transforms a mundane gesture into a medical emergency

Nothing suggested the dramatic outcome of such a trivial gesture. A 50-year-old man, in the middle of his morning routine, collapsed while brushing his teeth. When he woke up, he just felt uncomfortable in the back of his throat. But within a few hours, that mild sensation turned into persistent pain. It was only after an initial examination at Tokyo University Hospital that doctors understood the extent of the problem.

A simple three-millimeter scratch on the soft palate seemed harmless. However, a CT scan revealed a more worrying complication. Air had seeped into the space behind the pharynx, an area where it should never be. This accumulation of free air, called retropharyngeal emphysema, could lead to serious infections and even the formation of clots in the carotid arteries. Without rapid treatment, the consequences could have been dramatic. According to the clinical case relayed on the British Medical Journal website, the man was finally hospitalized for six days and treated preventively with antibiotics, narrowly escaping neurological or infectious complications.

What medical imaging reveals about invisible internal injuries

Medical imaging proved essential to understand the extent of the lesions. In another case that also occurred recently in Japan, a man arrived at the emergency room with a toothbrush stuck deep in his throat after a fall. Transported by ambulance, he presented an injury so unusual that doctors immediately performed a CT scan with contrast material. The object had passed through the soft tissues of the throat to reach the back of the neck, without striking the main cervical arteries.

Faced with such danger, surgeons opted for careful extraction, cutting the neck to access the stuck brush head. This complex protocol aimed to avoid any hemorrhage or nerve damage. Doctors then removed the rest of the handle through her mouth. This case, reported by PubMed Central, highlights the importance of never attempting to remove an object buried deep in the pharynx yourself, even if it appears accessible. After around ten days of hospitalization, the patient recovered, but suffered temporary shoulder damage, probably linked to the proximity of the injury to a motor nerve.

Why the toothbrush can become a dangerous object

In the collective imagination, toothbrushing accidents mainly concern young children. However, adults are not completely immune. While superficial injuries are common among young people, more serious cases documented in adults reveal that certain situations, such as loss of consciousness or a fall, can transform this familiar object into a vector of deep trauma.

Complications can go well beyond simple local injury. Medical studies have raised the risk of mediastinitis, a severe infection that can spread to the rib cage. Other cases have resulted in brain clots or deep abscesses. Already in 1936, an autopsy revealed a hemorrhagic infarction linked to a similar injury. Even if these events remain rare, health professionals now recommend close monitoring for any trauma involving the pharynx, with systematic use of imaging and preventive antibiotic treatment.

The most banal morning gesture can therefore, in very rare circumstances, put the safety of vital organs at risk. If we already knew that running with a toothbrush could injure children, we discovered that even in adults, the danger never completely disappears.