Change of Cerebral Blood Flow After a Successful Pharmacological Treatment of Phantom Bite Syndrome: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND

"Phantom bite syndrome," a persistent complaint of an uncomfortable bite sensation with no obvious occlusal abnormal finding, recently was suggested to be related with central nervous system dysfunction. Here, we report a case of phantom bite syndrome in which the occlusal discomfort was improved with mirtazapine and aripiprazole combination parallel with regional cerebral blood flow change.

CASE REPORT: A 60-year-old-female patient came to our clinic with the chief complaint of a "loosely bite" after dental treatment and various uncomfortable sensations of body sites. One year after the medication therapy, the prosthodontic retreatment was carried out successfully, and a good outcome was obtained for over 24 months so far. In addition, a subsequent change of regional cerebral blood flow was observed in single-photon emission computed tomography: the right and left asymmetry of cerebral blood flow in the frontal lobe has disappeared along with the improvement to the symptoms improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

This case suggests that some central nervous system dysfunction involving dopaminergic system might be related to the pathophysiology of phantom bite syndrome.