Phantom tooth pain: a new look at an old dilemma.
The aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge of phantom tooth pain, a neuropathic facial pain disorder, thought to result from peripheral nerve injury. Phantom tooth pain is a deafferentation pain disorder of persistent toothache in teeth that have been denervated (usually by root canal treatment) or pain in the area formerly occupied by teeth prior to their extraction. The pain usually extends to the facial structures adjacent to tissues that have undergone deafferentation. The clinical characteristics, differential diagnosis, epidemiology, and treatment of phantom tooth pain are reviewed. Suggestions for further research include the need for controlled treatment trials and modification of current criteria.


CONCLUSIONS
Phantom tooth pain has much in common with other phantom pain disorders. In the absence of controlled clinical trials specifically directed to phantom tooth pain, treatment should be guided by standards used for other neuropathic pain disorders. Revised diagnostic criteria for phantom tooth pain are proposed.
Marbach
J J
JJ
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Dept. of Psychiatry, and New Jersey Dental School, School of Oral Biology, Pathology, and Diagnostic Sciences, Newark 07103, USA. marbach@umdnj.edu
Raphael
K G
KG