Phantom bite syndrome: Revelation from clinically focused review

Abstract

Phantom bite syndrome (PBS), also called occlusal dysesthesia, is characterized by persistent non-verifiable occlusal discrepancies. Such erroneous and unshakable belief of a “wrong bite” might impel patients to visit multiple dental clinics to meet their requirements to their satisfaction. Subsequently, it takes a toll on their quality of life causing, career disruption, financial loss and suicidal thoughts. In general, patients with PBS are quite rare but distinguishable if ever encountered. Since Marbach reported the first two cases in 1976, there have been dozens of published cases regarding this phenomenon, but only a few original studies were conducted. Despite the lack of official classification and guidelines, many authors agreed on the existence of a PBS “consistent pattern” that clinicians should be made aware. Nevertheless, the treatment approach has been solely based on incomplete knowledge of etiology, in which none of the proposed theories are fully explained in all the available cases. In this review, we have discussed the critical role of enhancing dental professionals’ awareness of this phenomenon and suggested a comprehensive approach for PBS, provided by a multidisciplinary team of dentists, psychiatrists and exclusive psychotherapists.

Dental conditions in patients with medically unexplained oral symptoms

“…These patients are at a risk of overtreatment due to their persistent complaint of abnormal occlusion and strong desire for dental procedures. 19 , 20 In fact, our findings showed that patients with PBS were often in the process of prosthetic rehabilitation with temporary crowns, and because temporary crowns were counted in the DT score, we speculated that the DT and DMFT scores might have been higher.…”

Prevalence of periodontal disease in nicotine dependent students of UNIANDES

“…Estos matices en la evidencia resaltan la complejidad del tabaco como un factor de salud bucodental y la necesidad de una comprensión más matizada para abordar efectivamente este problema de salud pública, tal como se puede interpretar de estudios recientes. (10,11,12,13,14) A la luz de los hallazgos obtenidos en esta investigación, se proponen las siguientes recomendaciones para abordar las implicaciones en la salud bucodental relacionadas con el consumo de tabaco:…”