a technique for exposing a patient to oxygen at a pressure of greater than 1 atmosphere in a compression chamber. It is used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning, gas gangrene, compressed air illness, and acute breathing difficulties. It is also used in some cases during heart surgery. In dental extractions and implant treatment it may reduce the incidence of osteonecrosis in patients who have received radiation to the head and neck region (osteoradionecrosis).