Clinical study of patients with persistent orofacial pain

Objetive: To evaluate a sample of patients with persistent facial pain unresponsive to prior treatments. Methods: Hospital records of 26 patients with persistent facial pain were reviewed (20 female and 6 male). Results: Patients were classified into three groups according to their presenting symptoms: a)Group I, eight patients (30.7%) with severe, diffuse pain at the face, teeth or head; b)Group II, eight patients (30.7%) with chronic non-myofascial pain and; c)Group III, ten patients with chronic myofascial pain (38.4%). We find 11 different diagnoses among the 26 patients: pulpitis(7), leukemia(1), oropharyngeal tumor(1), atypical odontalgia(1), Eagle's syndrome(1), trigeminal neuralgia(4), continuous neuralgia(1), temporomandibular disorders (9), fibromyalgia (2), tension-type headache(1), conversion hysteria(2). After the treatment program all patients had a six-month follow-up period with pain relief, except the patient with tumor. Conclusion: The wide variability of orofacial pain diagnosis (benign to life-threatening diseases) indicates the necessity to reevaluate patients presenting recurrent pain that is refractory to the usual treatments.