Helia Zare*, Maryam Basirat, Mahdokht Taheri
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the extent of diagnostic and therapeutic problems in oral and maxillofacial pain.
Study design: In this cross sectional study, 88 patients with oral and maxillofacial pain, who had previously been examined by clinicians, were reviewed. The data about diagnostic delay, number and nature of previous consultations, and previous paraclinical tests, and treatments were obtained. ANOVA with Tukey test and Fisher's exact test were used to determine correlations between variables.
Results: 88 patients with a mean age of 47/10 ± 16/51 and mean pain intensity of 4/3 ± 1/17 were interviewed. In most cases, the professional delay was less than 3 months (53.4%). The mean number of referring was 4/42 ± 3/40 and the most common diagnosis was atypical facial pain (29/5%). In 46/6% of cases, the general dentist was the therapist and in 62.5% of the cases, diagnostic aids were not used, however, in 15/9% of cases, medical treatment was performed. Data analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between final diagnosis with gender, age, and location of pain.
Conclusions: Patients with oral and maxillofacial pain are frequently misdiagnosed, leading to prescription of ineffective medications and unnecessary investigations and surgical interventions. Educational efforts should focus on improving knowledge of this area.
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