Effect of facial pressure garments for burn injury in adult patients afterorthodontic treatment

Pressure garments are commonly used to prevent and control hypertrophic sca r tissue. Complications are unusual, though in children with facial burns, pressure garments may lead to skeletal and dental deformities. Studies in a dolescents and adults are sparse. We describe a 24-year-old woman who susta ined facial burns. Prior to injury, the patient had undergone premolar extr action in preparation for orthodontic treatment. Her post-burn care consist ed of application of a Jobst pressure garment. After 2 months treatment, se vere deformation of the dental-alveolar structure was observed. This report s suggests that adults after dental extraction are at a high risk of dental -alveolar deformities from pressure garments and might benefit from the use of occlusal wafers. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd and ISBI. All rights res erved.