The Differential Diagnosis of Orofacial Pains

Abstract

Summary Orofacial pain is a complex problem that presents as many different disorders. In order for the clinician to manage effectively the patient's specific orofacial pain problem, he or she first must be able to diagnose the condition. It is only through proper diagnosis that effective therapy can be applied. This article emphasizes the concept that different orofacial structures present pain with different unique clinical characteristics. If the clinician is able to identify these clinical characteristics, he or she more likely will correctly diagnose the problem. This article presents a clinical road map that helps the clinician better categorize pain condition (see Fig. 1). This article only emphasizes the differential diagnosis of the major orofacial pain conditions. A more complete understanding of each condition and its appropriate therapy can be found either in other articles in this issue or in other texts that specifically address each disorder.2, 4, 14, 18, 22