title: Reports of perceptual distortion of the face are common in patients with different types of chronic oro-facial pain.
abstract: Anecdotally, chronic oro-facial pain patients may perceive the painful face area as 'swollen'. Because there are no clinical signs, these self-reported 'illusions' may represent perceptual distortions and can be speculated to contribute to the maintenance of oro-facial pain. This descriptive study investigated whether chronic oro-facial pain patients experience perceptual distortions - a kind of body image disruption. Sixty patients were consecutively recruited to fill in questionnaires regarding i) pain experience, ii) self-reports of perceptual distortion and iii) psychological condition. Perceptual distortions were examined in the total group and in three diagnostic subgroups: i) painful post-traumatic trigeminal neuropathy (PPTN), ii) painful temporomandibular disorder (TMD) or iii) persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP). A large proportion of oro-facial pain patients reported perceptual distortions of the face (55·0%). In the diagnostic subgroups, perceptual distortions were most pronounced in PPTN patients (81·5%) but with no significant group differences. In the total group of chronic oro-facial pain patients, the present pain intensity explained 16·9% of the variance in magnitude of the perceptual distortions (R(2) = 16·9, F(31) = 6·3, P = 0·017). This study demonstrates that many chronic oro-facial pain patients may experience perceptual distortions. Future studies may clarify the mechanisms underlying perceptual distortions, which may point towards new complementary strategies for the management of chronic oro-facial pain.
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Department of Dentistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Scandinavian Center of Orofacial Neurosciences (SCON), Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Dagsdóttir
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Department of Dentistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Skyt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vase
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Department of Dentistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Scandinavian Center of Orofacial Neurosciences (SCON), Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baad-Hansen
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Department of Dentistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Scandinavian Center of Orofacial Neurosciences (SCON), Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castrillon
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Department of Dentistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Scandinavian Center of Orofacial Neurosciences (SCON), Aarhus, Denmark.|Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Svensson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D058443:Catastrophization; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D003718:Denmark; D003863:Depression; D005145:Face / Q000503:physiopathology; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D011788:Quality of Life; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: body image; chronic oro-facial pain; oral physiology; perceptual distortions; psychological condition; quality of life