Oral Factitious Injuries

The subject of oral factitious injuries is reviewed and four cases are reported. It is noted that self-inflicted oral injuries are not limited to the soft tissue but may result in destruction of bone and tooth structure. While children are more often the subjects of self-injurious behavior about the oral cavity, adults may also exhibit similar conduct. Emotional problems are often co-existent with self-inflicted oral injuries, however, in some cases there does not seem to be a readily descernible emotional disturbance. Since factitious injuries often pose diagnostic problems for the dentist, some diagnostic suggestions are included.