During a dental implant procedure, the patient accidentally swallows the implant. What is the most appropriate immediate management?

If a patient swallows a dental implant or small instrument, immediate management requires: (1) informing the patient immediately (non-disclosure would be an ethical and legal violation), and (2) obtaining radiographs — chest X-ray to rule out aspiration into the airway/lungs, and abdominal X-ray to confirm the object has passed into the gastrointestinal tract. If the object is in the GI tract, it will usually pass spontaneously within 3–5 days and can be monitored with serial abdominal X-rays. If it is in the respiratory tract (aspirated), urgent pulmonology/thoracic surgery referral is required. Option a) (non-disclosure) is ethically and legally unacceptable.