Dental implants: A remote option in case of somatic delusion disorder

Abstract

A 29-year-old female was referred by a psychiatrist for dental implantation and prosthodontic rehabilitation, as she had all her healthy permanent teeth extracted within a span of 2–6 months, due to somatic delusional disorder. She presently refuses artificial dentures and implants with the fear of having worms in her teeth and the fear not yet allayed. The patient cannot be treated for her edentulous state until her psychiatric symptoms are treated. This is the limitation for the implant surgeon where service rendered is impaired in spite of advanced professional skills, ideal patient ridge, and other factors, just where the patient is not mentally prepared for the dental rehabilitation procedures.

Keywords

• Auditory hallucinations
• delusions
• dental extraction
• implants