Journal of Orthodontics, Vol. 28, No. 3, 253,
September 2001
© 2001 British Orthodontic Society
Orofacial Pain—From Basic Science to Clinical Management
James P. Lund, Gilles J. Lavigne, Ronald Dubner and Barry J. Sessle (Eds) Quintessence, Chicago; London 2001 Number of pages: 260 Price: $38 ISBN: 0–86715–381–4
Ania Korszum
Pain is one of the main reasons that patients consult dentists and over the last few decades there have been tremendous advances in our understanding of the neurophysiology of pain. This book is based on a series of papers first presented at a symposium for teachers of orofacial pain, and it brings together the views of some eminent experts in this field. The result provides a useful and interesting overview of the current state of knowledge, and is aimed at teachers and students of dentistry, as well as clinicians eager to keep up to date with the latest developments. The style is straightforward and clear summaries are provided at the end of each chapter.
The book is divided into four main sections. Section I sets out the clinical problem and epidemiology of facial pain including educational guidelines for teaching about orofacial pain. Section II provides an excellent account of the neurobiology of pain. Section III, on Pain and Behaviour, covers a lot of useful areas, but with a surprising absence of any mention of psychiatric disorders. As any clinician who treats patients with chronic facial pain will know, these disorders and depression, in particular, are a common problem in this group of patients and often pose diagnostic and treatment dilemmas. As this book purports to bring the benefits of advances in the basic sciences to the treatment of facial pain, it is surprising that the extensive progress in our current understanding of neuropsychiatry is omitted entirely.
Section IV on Management of Orofacial Pain suffers from the same limitation and the section on antidepressant use in chronic pain conditions is too superficial to be helpful. However, there are very good chapters on the management of different types of orofacial pain including dental, inflammatory, and neuropathic pain. The section on management of masticatory myalgia and arthralgia will be of particular interest to orthodontists, and the controversies on the use of occlusal therapies and TMJ surgery are reviewed in the light of present evidence.
Overall, this book represents a valuable source of information on the current state of knowledge in the field of orofacial pain, and should prove to be a valuable asset to the improvement of education in this important and often neglected area.
