Ludwig's Angina

Ludwig's Angina Condition exhibiting bilateral swelling of the submental, sublingual, and submaxillary spaces. Characterized by extreme hardness of the floor of the mouth, "brawny", "indurated" swelling (no give or fluctuation due to pus formation) of the neck centering about the floor of the mouth and by the ensuing elevation of the mucosa of the mouth and tongue. Interstitial spaces are filled with fluid. The infection here may eventually extend to the lateral pharyngeal space and then may enter the retropharyngeal space and even descend to the mediastinum. Death from Ludwig's angina occurs as a result of suffocation due to edema of the mouth, tongue, and the glottis, from mediastinitis due to spread, or from septicemia or pneumonia Problem with the patient opening the mouth: Trismus Extraction of a lower molar tooth and subsequent infection precedes Ludwig's angina in a majority of cases. The roots of the second and third molar teeth reach downward to the level of the attachment of the mylohyoid muscle, and usually below it, while most of those of the first molar teeth, and usually all of those anterior to this, are located above this level BACK NEXT INDEX