An Insight into Classification, Diagnosis and Comprehensive Management of Food Impaction

Abstract

Food impaction is a commonly occurring entity evidenced in day-to-day dental practice. Various factors, such as improperly built proximal restoration, improperly fabricated crown with interdental spacing, opposing plunger cusps, ill-fitting prosthesis and proximal space created after orthodontic treatment by placement of molar bands, act as a reason for food getting impacted in the proximal space of the dentition. But at the same time, it is neglected without knowing the course of pathogenesis of the same, which could eventually lead to formation of localized periodontitis and further progression even leads to loss of dentition. Hence, this chapter gives an in-depth insight to aetiology, clinical and radiographic diagnosis and various means of management of food impaction from a periodontist perspective.