J Orofac Pain
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To investigate chronic orofacial pain experience, psychosocial impact, and help-seeking response in adult Chinese people in Hong Kong. ⋯ The prevalence of current/episodic orofacial pain was relatively high, whereas chronic orofacial pain was much less common. Although the intensity of chronic orofacial pain was significant, associated psychosocial disability was low, as was the level of perceived need for treatment. These findings may be related to more effective pain-coping strategies and greater acceptance of pain in this ethnic group compared to other ethnic groups.
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To describe 1 year's experience in treating orofacial pain with intramuscular injections of 0.5% bupivacaine bilateral to the spinous processes of the lower cervical vertebrae. ⋯ This is the first report of a large case series of emergency department patients whose orofacial pain conditions were treated with intramuscular injections of bupivacaine in the paraspinous muscles of the lower neck. The findings suggest that lower cervical paraspinous intramuscular injections with bupivacaine may prove to be a new therapeutic option for acute orofacial pain in the emergency department setting.
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To identify associations between clinical symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorders and radiographic findings. ⋯ Age, gender, and coarse crepitus, but no pain-related variables, were associated with increased risk of degenerative findings in TMJ tomograms. Maximal opening < 40 mm was associated with a posterior condyle-to-articular tubercle relation on opening.
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Comparative Study
A method for clinically defining "improvers" in chronic pain studies.
To test a measurement model based on clinicians' assessments of patient data that allows simple and confident clinical validation of any statistical or numerical technique designed to separate patients improving with treatment from those who are not, particularly for pain that shows large daily variation. ⋯ Visual assessment of VAS demonstrates distinct pain/time patterns that can validate numeric definition of complex pain recovery. No single numeric method can be guaranteed to give a clinically valid outcome.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of clinical findings and psychosocial factors in patients with atypical odontalgia and temporomandibular disorders.
To systematically compare clinical findings and psychosocial factors between patients suffering from atypical odontalgia (AO) and an age- and gender-matched group of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). ⋯ AO and TMD share some characteristics but differ significantly in report of dental trauma, jaw function, pain duration, and pain site.