ear, nose, and throat disorders
Submandibular Space Infection
Introduction
Submandibular space infection is acute cellulitis of the soft tissues below the mouth. Symptoms include pain, dysphagia, and potentially fatal airway obstruction. Diagnosis usually is clinical. Treatment includes airway management, surgical drainage, and IV antibiotics. Submandibular space infection is a rapidly spreading, bilateral, indurated cellulitis occurring in the suprahyoid soft tissues, the floor of the mouth, and both sublingual and submaxillary spaces without abscess formation. Although not a true abscess, it resembles one clinically and is treated similarly. The condition usually develops from an odontogenic infection, especially of the 2nd and 3rd mandibular molars. Contributing factors may include poor dental hygiene, tooth extractions, and trauma (eg, fractures of the mandible, lacerations of the floor of the mouth). 