A Brush With Danger

A 10-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with a toothbrush embedded in her soft palate after she was struck by a sibling while brushing her teeth. She was in severe pain and could not swallow. Physical examination revealed a plastic toothbrush embedded in the posterior oropharynx with blood-tinged saliva present, but no frank hemorrhage or respiratory distress (Fig 1). Computed tomography (CT) angiography showed the toothbrush lodged in the right mucosal parapharyngeal space abutting the internal carotid artery (Figs 2, 3).