Understanding and managing patients with chronic pain

Abstract

The specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery has had at its core the foundations of anesthesia and pain and anxiety control. This article attempts to refamiliarize the reader with clinical pearls helpful in the management of patients with chronic pain conditions. The authors also hope to highlight the interplay of chronic pain and psychology as it relates to the oral and maxillofacial surgery patient. To that end, the article outlines and reviews the neurophysiology of pain, the definitions of pain, conditions encountered by the oral and maxillofacial surgeon that produce chronic pain, the psychological impact and comorbidities associated with patients experiencing chronic pain conditions, and concepts of multimodal treatment for patients experiencing chronic pain conditions.