Risk factors for oral myiasis:
(1) senility, mental debility or coma
(2) low socioeconomic status
(3) poor nutritional status
(4) poor oral hygiene
(5) alcoholism
(6) severe halitosis
(7) prolonged mouth opening
(8) infant breastfed from a mother with Cordylobia anthropophaga infestation of the breast
(9) lack of dental care
(10) severe gingival disease
(11) oral trauma
(12) intraoral wound or suppurative lesion
(13) open dental socket
(14) food contaminated with fly eggs
where:
• Damage to a nerve affecting oral closure or intraoral sensation would also seem to be a potential risk factor.
Clinical signs and symptoms:
(1) foreign body sensation in the oral cavity
(2) oral pain and swelling
(3) mass lesion
(4) halitosis
(5) maggots seen in the oral cavity or in the sputum
(6) cough or laryngospasm (from inhaling larvae)
Complications may include:
(1) facial cellulitis
(2) palatal perforation
(3) local tissue destruction
