Neuropathic pain after dental treatment

Abstract

The head and neck regions are the most common sites of the human body to be involved in chronic pain conditions. Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain condition, and refers to all pain initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction or transitory perturbation in the peripheral or central nervous system (CNS). Trigeminal neuralgia, atypical odontalgia (phantom tooth pain), burning mouth syndrome, traumatic neuropathies, postherpetic neuralgias and complex regional pain syndrome are neuropathic pain conditions in the orofacial region that can be encountered in pain and dental clinics. The majority of the time this problem is misdiagnosed by the dentist, which can lead to unnecessary treatments. These treatments may include endodontic treatment and extraction of the tooth or teeth in the region. In this review, only post-traumatic peripheral pain neuropathies seen after dental treatments will be discussed.