Atypical facial pain and atypical odontalgia: A concise review

The concept of pain has evolved from that of a one-dimensional sensation to that of a multi-dimensional experience encompassing sensory, discriminate, cognitive, motivational and aff ective qualities. Pain is the presenting symptom of a broad spectrum of diseases that needs to be diagnosed and treated. Establishing a precise diagnosis and providing eff ective treatment have become major challenges in medical and dental profession. Oro-facial pain is the fi eld of dentistry devoted to the diagnosis and management of chronic, complex, facial pain and oro-motor disorders. Since diff erent diseases produce characteristic patterns of tissue damage, the quality, time course, location of a patient’s pain complaint and the location of tenderness provide important diagnostic clues and are used to evaluate the response to treatment. The general characteristics, etiologic characteristics, pathophysiology, diff erential diagnostic criteria, and therapeutic options of atypical facial pain and atypical odontalgia are described.