Pain management procedures used by dental and maxillofacial surgeons: an investigation with special regard to odontalgia.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the procedures used by German dental and maxillofacial surgeons treating patients suffering from chronic orofacial pain (COP). This study aimed to evaluate the ambulatory management of COP.


METHODS
Using a standardized questionnaire we collected data of dental and maxillofacial surgeons treating patients with COP. Therapists described variables as patients' demographics, chronic pain disorders and their aetiologies, own diagnostic and treatment principles during a period of 3 months.


RESULTS
Although only 13.5% of the 520 addressed therapists returned completely evaluable questionnaires, 985 patients with COP could be identified. An orofacial pain syndrome named atypical odontalgia (17.0 %) was frequent. Although those patients revealed signs of chronification, pain therapists were rarely involved (12.5%). For assessing pain the use of Analogue Scales (7%) or interventional diagnostics (4.6%) was uncommon. Despite the fact that surgical procedures are cofactors of COP therapists preferred further surgery (41.9%) and neglected the prescription of analgesics (15.7%). However, most therapists self-evaluated the efficacy of their pain management as good (69.7 %).


CONCLUSIONS
Often ambulatory dental and maxillofacial surgeons do not follow guidelines for COP management despite a high prevalence of severe orofacial pain syndromes.
Wirz
Stefan
S
Outpatients Pain Clinic - Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str, 25, D-53105 Bonn, Germany. s.wirz@web.de
Wartenberg
Hans Christian
HC
Nadstawek
Joachim
J
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014098:Toothache / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult