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Psychosomatic dentistry

Edited by Dr Akira Toyofuku
BioPsychoSocial Medicine

Psychosomatic dentistry is defined as a field of academic study for “Medically Unexplained Oral Symptoms (MUOSs)”. MUOSs are oral symptoms for which the treating dentists and other healthcare providers have found no dental or medical causes. The symptoms are accompanied by physiological and functional changes that originate partially from emotional and psychological factors. Since the oral cavity is sensitive to external stimuli and its environment is related directly to the major human instincts, the oral environment is charged with a high psychological potential. Although patients complaining of MUOSs are not uncommon, clinicians haven’t reached a consensus about proper diagnosis and treatment. In this thematic series in BioPsychoSocial Medicine, we present the latest concepts and findings on MUOSs, and propose possible diagnoses and treatments.

The editor declares no competing interests.

View all collections published in BioPsychoSocial Medicine

  1. Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS), a chronic intraoral burning sensation or dysesthesia without clinically evident causes, is one of the most common medically unexplained oral symptoms/syndromes. Even though the cl...

    Authors: Trang T. H. Tu, Miho Takenoshita, Hirofumi Matsuoka, Takeshi Watanabe, Takayuki Suga, Yuma Aota, Yoshihiro Abiko and Akira Toyofuku
    Citation: BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2019 13:1
    Content type: Review Published on:

  2. Atypical odontalgia (AO) is a disease characterized by continuous pain affecting the teeth or tooth sockets after extraction in the absence of any identifiable cause on clinical or radiographic examination. An...

    Authors: Miho Takenoshita, Anna Miura, Yukiko Shinohara, Rou Mikuzuki, Shiori Sugawara, Trang Thi Huyen Tu, Kaoru Kawasaki, Takeru Kyuragi, Yojiro Umezaki and Akira Toyofuku
    Citation: BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2017 11:21
    Content type: Case report Published on:

  4. Cenesthopathy is characterized by abnormal and strange bodily sensations and is classified as a ‘delusional disorder, somatic type’ or ‘somatoform disorder’ according to the DSM 5. The oral cavity is one of th...

    Authors: Yojiro Umezaki, Anna Miura, Motoko Watanabe, Miho Takenoshita, Akihito Uezato, Akira Toriihara, Toru Nishikawa and Akira Toyofuku
    Citation: BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2016 10:20
    Content type: Review Published on:

  5. Many dental patients complain of oral symptoms after dental treatment, such as chronic pain or occlusal discomfort, for which the cause remains undetermined. These symptoms are often thought to be mental or em...

    Authors: Akira Toyofuku
    Citation: BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2016 10:14
    Content type: Review Published on: