Vad är orofacial smärta?

The prevalence of orofacial pain has been reported to be approximately 10-15% of the population. It is more common among females than in males and occurs in all age groups. Temporomandibular disorders (TMD), followed by atypical facial pain and burning mouth syndrome, are the most frequently found orofacial pain conditions. Patients often report persistent or recurrent pain in conjunction with limitation in daily activities and psychosocial distress. A critical obstacle to our understanding of orofacial pain is the lack of standardized criteria for defining clinical subtypes of orofacial pain. The Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD) was developed to allow standardized replication into the most common forms of muscle- and joint-related TMD. Several studies have shown good reliability for the RDC/TMD in adults and adolescents as well in cross-cultural comparisons of TMD patients. The lecture will focus on what has emerged from recent clinical research and will address issues such as assessment, diagnosis, mechanisms and treatment of orofacial pain conditions.