Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of mouth guard with video laryngoscope to prevent dental and lip injuries during general anesthesia.

Materials and Methods: A prospective randomized double-blind study involving 200 patients with pre-existing dental problem at anterior of mouth undergoing surgery during general anesthesia was conducted. Patients were divided into two groups, according to randomly allocated by block of 4 to use Macintosh laryngoscope (group C, n=100), or use mouth guard with video laryngoscope (group I, n=100) for intubation. Vital signs, ETCO₂ were record every five minutes during surgery until the end of operation. Side effect such as dental injuries and lip injuries were also recorded. Data were analyze using t-test, and a p-value lower than 0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: There was no incidence of post-operative dental injuries and intubation that required two or more attempt in group I (p=0.01 and 0.02) compared with group C. There was no incidence of lip and tongue injuries in either groups. Every periodontal damage patient was emergency case and only one tooth was affected. The left upper central incisor teeth were the most common sites for injury.

Conclusion: Mouth guard with video laryngoscope can prevent dental injury from intubation without any complication in patients with pre-existing dental problem at the anterior of the mouth who are undergoing surgery at Pathumthani Hospital. No incidence of lip and tongue injuries were found.

Keywords: Dental injury, Mouth guard, Video laryngoscope

Received 22 May 2019 | Revised 21 Jun 2019 | Accepted 28 Jun 2019