Orofacial Pain – An Update for General Dental Practitioners

Objective: To review the available literature on orofacial pain. Material and Methods: This literature review was performed to elucidate information pertaining to orofacial pain from various medical databases. Result: Pain of any origin compromises on an individual’s quality of life. The prevention and management of pain is an important aspect of health care. This multidimensional phenomenon requires a multi-disciplinary approach. This review describes pain, pain pathway, differential diagnosis and its management. This review also describes the factors that must be considered in developing an effective model of care for people who experience such pain. Conclusion: Though evidence shows that orofacial pain is widely prevalent in the general population, research still fails to address numerous aspects of pain management and diagnosis. Therefore both the laboratory and the clinical research should be performed to increase our knowledge of the normal and abnormal mechanisms that generate orofacial pain.