start-ver=1.4 cd-journal=joma no-vol=68 cd-vols= no-issue=5 article-no= start-page=269 end-page=275 dt-received= dt-revised= dt-accepted= dt-pub-year=2014 dt-pub=201410 dt-online= en-article= kn-article= en-subject= kn-subject= en-title= kn-title=Chronic Orofacial Pain in Dental Patients: Retrospective Investigation over 12 years en-subtitle= kn-subtitle= en-abstract= kn-abstract=Orofacial pain is often difficult to diagnose and treat. However, there have been few reports on the clinical observation of dental patients with orofacial pain. We retrospectively investigated the characteristics of 221 dental patients who had suffered from persistent orofacial pain. Data were collected from the outpatient medical records in our clinic over the past 12 years. More than half of the patients (53.8%) had suffered with pain for more than 6 months from pain onset until the first visit to our clinic. The main diagnoses were neuropathic pain (30.3%), myofascial pain (23.5%), psychogenic pain (20.4%), odontogenic toothache (17.2%), and others (7.7%) such as temporomandibular disorders and glossitis. The treatments included pharmacotherapy, splint therapy, and others such as nerve block, dental treatment, physiotherapy, and/or psychotherapy. Excluding the patients (52 of 221 initially enrolled patients) with unknown responses to treatment, 65.7% showed remission or a significant improvement in pain in response to treatment. Although only a small group of patients had odontogenic toothache, the rate of improvement was highest for this disorder. In conclusion, early consultation with a dentist is useful to prevent chronicity of odontogenic pain and to make a differential diagnosis in patients with orofacial pain. en-copyright= kn-copyright= en-aut-name=TomoyasuYumiko en-aut-sei=Tomoyasu en-aut-mei=Yumiko kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=1 ORCID= en-aut-name=HiguchiHitoshi en-aut-sei=Higuchi en-aut-mei=Hitoshi kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=2 ORCID= en-aut-name=MoriMegumi en-aut-sei=Mori en-aut-mei=Megumi kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=3 ORCID= en-aut-name=TakayaKumiko en-aut-sei=Takaya en-aut-mei=Kumiko kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=4 ORCID= en-aut-name=HondaYuka en-aut-sei=Honda en-aut-mei=Yuka kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=5 ORCID= en-aut-name=YamaneAyaka en-aut-sei=Yamane en-aut-mei=Ayaka kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=6 ORCID= en-aut-name=YabukiAkiko en-aut-sei=Yabuki en-aut-mei=Akiko kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=7 ORCID= en-aut-name=HayashiTomoko en-aut-sei=Hayashi en-aut-mei=Tomoko kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=8 ORCID= en-aut-name=Ishii-MaruhamaMinako en-aut-sei=Ishii-Maruhama en-aut-mei=Minako kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=9 ORCID= en-aut-name=JinzenjiAyako en-aut-sei=Jinzenji en-aut-mei=Ayako kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=10 ORCID= en-aut-name=MaedaShigeru en-aut-sei=Maeda en-aut-mei=Shigeru kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=11 ORCID= en-aut-name=KohjitaniAtsushi en-aut-sei=Kohjitani en-aut-mei=Atsushi kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=12 ORCID= en-aut-name=ShimadaMasahiko en-aut-sei=Shimada en-aut-mei=Masahiko kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=13 ORCID= en-aut-name=MiyawakiTakuya en-aut-sei=Miyawaki en-aut-mei=Takuya kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=14 ORCID= affil-num=1 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences affil-num=2 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Okayama University Hospital affil-num=3 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences affil-num=4 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences affil-num=5 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences affil-num=6 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences affil-num=7 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences affil-num=8 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Okayama University Hospital affil-num=9 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Okayama University Hospital affil-num=10 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences affil-num=11 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Okayama University Hospital affil-num=12 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences affil-num=13 en-affil= kn-affil=Orofacial Pain Management, Department of Oral Restitution Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University affil-num=14 en-affil= kn-affil=Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences en-keyword=dental patients kn-keyword=dental patients en-keyword=pain clinic kn-keyword=pain clinic en-keyword=orofacial pain kn-keyword=orofacial pain en-keyword=dental anesthesiology kn-keyword=dental anesthesiology en-keyword=clinical observation kn-keyword=clinical observation END