Hazards of oral implant treatment include the inadvertent ingestion or inhalation of components or instruments dropped accidentally into the oropharynx. A case is reported of a swallowed screwdriver, and attention is drawn to the potentially serious consequences. Guidance is given on management. Inhalation of foreign bodies is an even more serious event. The importance of prevention is emphasized both from a medicolegal point of view and as a matter of proper patient care. Schlagwörter: colonoscopy, endoscopy, hemorrhage, infection, ingestion, inhalation, obstruction, perforation, prevention