Spencer Christopher J, Gremillion Henry A
Department of Orthodontics, Parker E. Mahan Facial Pain Center, University of Florida College of Dentistry, P.O. Box 100437, Gainesville, FL 32610-0437, USA.
Dent Clin North Am. 2007 Jan;51(1):209-24, viii. doi: 10.1016/j.cden.2006.09.006.
The most common reason patients seek medical or dental care in the United States is due to pain or dysfunction. The orofacial region is plagued by a number of acute, chronic, and recurrent painful maladies. Pain involving the teeth and the periodontium is the most common presenting concern in dental practice. Non-odontogenic pain conditions also occur frequently. Recent scientific investigation has provided and explosion of knowledge regarding pain mechanisms and pathways and an enhanced understanding of the complexities of the many ramifications of the total pain experience. Therefore, it is mandatory for the dental professional to develop the necessary clinical and scientific expertise on which he/she may base diagnostic and management approaches. Optimum management can be achieved only by determining an accurate and complete diagnosis and identifying all of the factors associated with the underlying pathosis on a case-specific basis. A thorough understanding of the epidemiologic and etiologic aspects of dental. musculoskeletal, neurovascular, and neuropathic orofacial pain conditions is essential to the practice of evidence-based dentistry/medicine.
在美国，患者寻求医疗或牙科护理的最常见原因是疼痛或功能障碍。口腔颌面部区域受到多种急性、慢性和复发性疼痛疾病的困扰。涉及牙齿和牙周组织的疼痛是牙科实践中最常见的就诊问题。非牙源性疼痛状况也经常发生。最近的科学研究带来了有关疼痛机制和途径的知识大爆发，并加深了对整个疼痛体验诸多影响因素复杂性的理解。因此，牙科专业人员必须培养必要的临床和科学专业知识，以此为诊断和管理方法奠定基础。只有通过确定准确而全面的诊断，并根据具体病例识别与潜在病理状况相关的所有因素，才能实现最佳管理。深入了解牙科、肌肉骨骼、神经血管以及神经性口腔颌面部疼痛状况的流行病学和病因学方面，对于循证牙科/医学实践至关重要。
