Letters to the editor

A 9 month old baby was referred to the Oral and Maxillofacial Acute Service from A&E with a dental abscess, with the referrer describing it as an ‘intra-oral swelling in the upper gums’. The mother reported the swelling had been present for only 1 day but the infant's feeding had reduced and she was worried.

On examination, the infant was alert, but quite upset. There appeared to be a very pink, dome-shaped swelling in the upper left alveolar ridge. Understandably, this lesion had been mistaken for a gingival swelling, but was in fact a foreign body. It was lodged into the palatal mucosa, but was removed manually on examination and left no residual trauma to the soft tissue. This foreign body could have become a choking hazard.

Upon removal, the mother recognized this as a piece of the popular ‘Pop it’ fidget toy. This is a plastic fidget toy that allows the operator to repeatedly ‘pop’ the plastic bubbles – an action that resembles popping bubble wrap, and it has been praised for its stress-relieving properties. They are a fast-selling toy with one major retailer selling upwards of 1 million items since April 2021.