A man from Mabalacat, Pampanga underwent a medical procedure after accidentally swallowing a piece of his dental braces, in what experts described as a rare but dangerous incident.

In a report on 24 Oras, Vincent John Jocson shared in a video that he was eating a rice cake after a workout when he noticed something wrong.

“Pagkauwi ko, ‘yun yung kinain ko. Rice cake siya na bilog,” he said.

While chewing, he felt the wire of his braces come loose.

“Naramdaman ko yung wire ng brace ko nawawala na. Pagkatapos ko lumunok, naramdaman ko may tumutusok dito. Masakit siya, parang natinik ka,” he said.

He tried to find the wire but could no longer see it.

“Tinry kong tingnan sa salamin. Hindi ko na siya mahanap kasi feel ko malalim na siya. Tinry kong magsuka, wala din,” he added.

His parents rushed him to the emergency room, where an X-ray confirmed the missing wire was lodged in his throat.

“Parang naka-slant siya. Sinabi na ng doktor na kailangan nilang mag-schedule ng isang ENT doctor,” Jocson said.

He was advised not to eat to avoid further complications.

Doctors later removed the wire through a procedure using a tube and a camera. “Nilagyan nila ako ng tubo sa bibig. Then after that, parang may camera siya and then may pang-ipit sila pangkuha,” he said.

The wire, which measured nearly one and a half inches, was eventually found and extracted. “Medyo mahirap daw siyang hanapin pero eventually nahanap naman nila nasa dulo na daw siya ng lalamunan ko. Yung wire na nalunok ko is almost an inch and a half. Mahaba talaga siya,” he said.

He stayed overnight in the hospital and was later given medication. He also had excess wires from his braces removed to prevent a similar incident.

An orthodontics expert said such cases are very rare but can be serious.

“It is classified under rare occurrence. It’s a very unusual thing that happens in a dental clinic. I would say 1 percent or maybe less than 1 percent,” Dr. Gamaliel “Gammy” Urbi said.

He warned that longer wires could get stuck inside the body and cause complications.

“It’s actually quite concerning for the patient. If it’s lengthy, about 1 inch or more, there is a good chance it might get dislodged or it might get stuck inside the digestive system,” he said.

He advised patients with braces to be careful when eating.

“Big chunks of food, especially hard food, they have to avoid that. Don’t eat it directly. Just have to slice it bite sizes and then slowly swallow it,” he said.

He added that patients should take responsibility in caring for their braces during treatment.

“My advice is remember that you are having a treatment. So when you have a lot of things in your mouth, it is always your responsibility, not the dentist,” he said.