2. INTRODUCTION
Pain is a vital function of the
nervous system, in providing the
body with a warning of potential or
actual injury.
3. DEFINITION
ā an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience
associated with actual or potential tissue damage,
or described in terms of such damage ā
International Association for the study of Pain
(IASP)
Monheim
ā an unpleasant emotional experience usually
stimulated by a noxious stimulus and transmitted
over a specialized neural network to the CNS
where it is interpreted as such.ā
4. HISTORY
Greek word āpoinā - meaning penalty
Latin word āpoenaā - punishment from god.
Aristotle- ļ¬rst to distinguish the 5
physical senses. Considered pain to be the
āpassion of the soulā.
5. HISTORICAL Theories
Hippocrates - imbalance in vital ļ¬uids.
1664-Rene descartes - disturbance in nerve ļ¬bers that
reaches the brain.
1955 - G. Wedell - proposed that all skin ļ¬ber endings (with the
exception of those innervating hair cells) are identical, and
that pain is produced by intense stimulation of these ļ¬bers.
20th century - āGate Control Theoryā- Ronald Melzack and
Patrick Wall. proposed that both thin (pain) and large diameter
(touch, pressure, vibration) nerve ļ¬bers carry information
from the site of injury to two destinations in the dorsal horn
of the spinal cord, āØ
and that the more large ļ¬ber activity relative to thin ļ¬ber
activity at the inhibitory cell, the less pain is felt.
6. Changing Concepts of Pain
During recent years concept of pain has evolved. It
is now recognized as being an experience than just a
sensation.
Cognitive - which represents a subjectās ability to
comprehend and evaluate the signiļ¬cance of
experience.
Emotional - represents the feelings that are
generated.
Motivational - which has to do with the drive to
eliminate pain.
7. 3 Dimensions of Pain
In 1968 Ronald Melzack and Kenneth Casey
described pain in terms of its three dimensions:
"sensory-discriminative" (sense of the intensity,
location, quality and duration of the pain),
"affective-motivational" (unpleasantness and
urge to escape the unpleasantness), and
"cognitive-evaluative" (cognitions such as
appraisal, cultural values, distraction and
hypnotic suggestion)
8. Concept Today..
āintensive theoryā
that a pain signal can be generated by intense
enough stimulation of any sensory receptor.
At the peripheral end of the nociceptor, noxious
stimuli generate currents that, above a given
threshold, send signals along the nerve ļ¬ber to the
spinal cord.
The "speciļ¬city" (whether it responds to thermal,
chemical or mechanical features of its environment)
of a nociceptor is determined by which ion channels
it expresses at its peripheral end.
Wilhelm Erbās
9. Noxious stimulus leads to electrical
activities in the sensory nerve endings.
Neural events that carry the nociceptive
input into the CNS for processing.
Ability of CNS to control the pain
transmitting neurons.
Nociceptive inputs reaches the cortex where
perception occurs which immediately
initiates a complex interaction in the
neurons between higher centers of the brain.
NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
OF PAIN
10. THEORIES OF PAIN
1. INTENSITY THEORY
2. SPECIFICITY THEORY
3. PATTERN THEORY
4. CHEMICAL THEORY
5. LINDHALāS BIOCHEMICAL THEORY
6. GATE CONTROL THEORY
11. INTENSITY THEORY
Erb - 1874
Pain is a non speciļ¬c sensation and is
stimulated only by high intensity
stimulation.
Not Accepted - trigeminal neurlagia, pt.
can suffer pain by merely gentle touch of
trigger zone.
12. SPECIFICITY THEORY
Von Frey - 1895
Body has a separate sensory system for perceiving pain.
Meissner corpuscles - touch
Rufļ¬ni end organs - warmth
Krausse end bulbs - cold
Nociceptors - pain (eg: C ļ¬bers)
Not Accepted - does not account for wide range of
physiological factors that affect our perception of pain.
13. PATTERN THEORY
Goldscheider 1920
Proposed that pain is generated by non speciļ¬c
receptor.
Assumed that all peripheral nerve ļ¬bre
endings are alike and that pattern for pain is
produces by more intense stimulation than for
other sensations.
Nerve impulse entering CNS is diff. for diff.
persons depending on anatomic variation.
15. LINDHALās BIOCHEMICAL THEORY
Acc. to this, alteration in the local pH in
the vicinity of nerve is the cause for pain.
Eg: Pain of abscess (due to acidic
environment) - can be reduced by increasing
alkalinity of the area.
ACIDITY - Causes pain
ALKALINITY - Reduces pain
16. GATE CONTROL THEORY
Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall 1965
Small ļ¬bers relay impulses to the cells of
substantial gelatinous
Large ļ¬bers relay impulses - marginal cells of
posterior grey horn
Large ļ¬bers had ability to modulate synaptic
transmission of small ļ¬bers within the dorsal horn
Large ļ¬ber creates a hypothetical gate that can
open or close the system to pain stimulation
17. INNERVATION OF THE HEAD
Somatic and visceral sensory innervation : Trigeminal
Nerve (V), partly by glossopharyngeal (IX), and vagus (X).
Voluntary Motor Innervation : āØ
Occulomotor (III)āØ
Trochlear (IV) āØ
Abducent (VI)āØ
Facial Nerve (VII) - muscles of expressionāØ
Motor branch of Trigeminal (Vm) - Muscles of masticationāØ
Glossopharygeal (IX) - swallowing
Autonomic Motor Innervation :āØ
entire sympathetic supply to smooth muscles is from
Superior Cervical Sympathetic Ganglion.
19. Pain due to local causes
A. Pathological changes in
teeth and jaws
B. TMJ and associated muscles
of mastication
C. Nose and paranasal
diseases
D. Oral mucosal diseases
E. Lymph node diseases
F. Salivary gland disease
G. Diseases of blood vessels
Pain along nerve trunk and
central pathways
A. Trigeminal neuralgia and
glossopharyngeal neuralgia
B. Migraine
C. Atypical facial palsy
Referred pain from other organs
A. Cervical spondalities
B. Angina pectoris
C. Oropharygeal diseases
ETIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION
20. 1. Experimental
Noxious stimuli causes mild
uncomfortable or painful sensation.
2. TransientāØ
Short duration
Severe
Self limiting
3. Acute Pathological PaināØ
Sharp, fast, pricking
Occurs very rapidlyāØ
Carried by large diameter Ašæ ļ¬bers.āØ
Usually alleviated with
professional help
4. Chronic Pathological Pain
Burning, achingāØ
Gradually decreasesāØ
Non myelinated C ļ¬bersāØ
Persistent pain that may last for months to yearsāØ
Little apparent causeāØ
Pain often increases over time
Based on onset, duration and quality of pain
24. OROFACIAL PAIN PATHWAY
Somatic inputs from the
face and oral structures do
not enter the spinal cord by
way of spinal nerves.
Instead, sensory input
from the face and mouth is
carried by way of the ļ¬fth
cranial nerve, the
trigeminal nerve.
27. ā¢ Visceral in character and is of threshold type.
ā¢ Responds to all types of noxious stimuli but to
ordinary masticatory function.
ā¢ Non-localisable
ā¢ A basic clinical feature is that it does not remain
the same indeļ¬nitely.
ā¢ Generally it resolves, becomes chronic or
proceeds to PDL structures.
DENTAL PAIN OF PULPAL ORIGIN
28. ā¢ Deep somatic pain of musculoskeletal type.
ā¢ More localized than pulpal pain.
ā¢ Intimately related to biomechanical function
(masticatory)
ā¢ Receptors of PDL are capable of precise localization.
ā¢ Characterised by discomfort during biting - Under
occlusal pressure - tooth feels sore or elongated.
DENTAL PAIN OF PDL ORIGIN
30. 1. The chief
complaint -
Location of pain
Onset of pain - Associated factorsāØ
Progression
Characteristics of PaināØ
- Quality of paināØ
- Behavior of pain
Intensity
Flow of the pain
Aggravating and Alleviating factors
Past consultation and treatments
Relationships to other complaints
2. Past Medical
History
3. Psychological
Assessment
31. LOCATION
ā¢ Indicates whether the pain is intraoral/extra oral
ā¢ Diffused or localized .
ā¢ Precise or vague
ā¢ If referred pain is present then it indicates the extent
ONSET
ā¢ Pt should relate when the signs of present complaint were ļ¬rst
perceived
ā¢ The origin and mode of onset is important to determine the
chronicity of pain. A long continued pain with insidious onset
indicates chronic nature of the disease, whereas a recent onset
of pain with sudden impact indicates acute nature of disease.
32. TYPE OF PAIN
ā Vague pain: It is a mild continuous pain, e.g. periodontal
pain
ā Burning pain: Pain usually occurs with the burning
sensation,
e.g. reļ¬ex oesophagitis.
ā Throbbing pain: Type of pressured throbbing sensation is
felt,
e.g. in abscesses.
ā Stabbing pain: Sudden, severe, sharp and short-lived pain,
e.g. acute pulpal pain.
ā Shooting pain: Pain increases in severity in a short period,
e.g. trigeminal neuralgia.
33. INTENSITY OF PAIN
Indicates the tissue damage and to some extent reļ¬ects
the EXTENT of damage
FEAR of dental procedures - exaggerate perceived
symptoms - causing an inconsistency b/w the
symptoms & pulpal pathosis.
DURATION OF PAIN
In terms of days/months/years. The clinician asks āhow long
the pain lastsā? Pain can be intermittant or continuous. A
continuous pain is the one which persists for a longer duration.
An intermittent pain is the one which occurs after short
intervals of time.
34. AFFECTING FACTORS
Affecting Factors-aggravating, relieving or altering the
symptoms
Postural Changes
Maxillary sinus involvement :HEADACHE/jaw pain
accentuated by jogging, bending over, blowing of nose
The pain of cracked tooth syndrome occurs when the
patient relieves the occlusal pressure over the tooth.
35. TOOLS TO MEASURE DEGREE OF PAIN OR DISCOMFORT
Non verbal self-report technique
Age and measure of pain intensity
Visual analog scale
Pain thermometer scale
Color selection
Heart rate in response to pain stimuli
36. Age Self- report
measures
Behavior
Measures
Physiologic
measures
Birth-3 years Not available Of primary
importance
Of secondary
importance
3-6 years Specialized,
developmentally
appropriate
scales available
Primary if self-
report not
available.
Of secondary
importance.
>6 years Of primary
importance
Of secondary
importance
Of secondary
importance.
Age and measure of pain intensity
40. PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
ON DENTAL PAIN
Complete knowledge of dental pain paves a way
for evidence based oral health care.
41. The order of birth of the child, being the middle child and
youngest son, and a history of dental pain (OR: 84.477,
95%CI:33.076-215.759) were found to be indicators of
perceived impact on OHRQoL among preschool children.
42. CONCLUSION: Dental pain is related to dental caries experience
and activity and to socioeconomic and psychosocial factors,
showing the need for further attention to these conditions.
From 592 participants, 33.44% have reported dental pain as reason
for their most recent dental appointment. After statistical analysis,
dental pain was associated with low income (p = 0.04), higher
number of people living in the same home (p < 0.01), low frequency
of daily tooth brushing (p = 0.01), long interval between dental
appointments (p < 0.001), longer time elapsed since last dental
appointment (p < 0.001), dental anxiety (p < 0.01), consumption of
cariogenic food (p = 0.03), high dental caries experience (p < 0.01) and
with the presence of untreated dental caries (p < 0.001).
43. REFERENCES
Textbook of Orofacial Pain and Headache - Yair
Sharav and Rafael Benoliel
A practical manual of Public Health Dentistry - by
CM Maurya
Serpell M. (2006) Anatomy, physiology and
pharmacology of pain. Surgery 24 (10): 350-353
44. PAIN MANAGEMENT
in DENTAL OFFICE
PREVIOUSLY :
theories
pathways
mechanism
diagnosis
Various Orofacial Pains
Non pharmacological
Pharmacological
46. The 1st step of Psychological comfort is attempt to
call the patient by his ļ¬rst name
Gaining conļ¬dence of the patient - āØ
proper instruments applied with skill.
Explain the procedure in simple words and not
medical terms.
Show and not just explain.
Meet the Patient..
47. Pain and anxiety
Enhancing control and information - Tell show do approach
Ask permission before adjusting chair positions, or before giving injections.
Modifying attention and Using Distraction - background music.
Relaxation
Paced Breathing
Biofeedback : pulse meter to monitor heart rate.
Desensitization : (Cognitive behavioral psychology)- for long standing
dental fears. Pt. is taught relaxation and paced breathing. Then each
stimuli is presented in order.
Therapeutic recommendations : difļ¬cult patient.āØ
attempt to establish a rapport, then institute prevention-oriented
procedure 1st. āØ
Analgesics and antibiotics to alleviate pain.āØ
Referral of overanxious pt. to mental health practitioners for prescribing
sedating drugs.
48. Non Pharmacological Interventions
Bed Rest
Distraction
Therapeutic
modalities
TENS
Superļ¬cial
heat
Ultrasound
Cryotherapy
Acupuncture
Exercise
Hypnosis
BED REST : beneļ¬cial to allow for reduction of muscle
spasm brought on by upright activity.
DISTRACTION : diversion of oneās attention from
pain to something else.
TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation)
- the local stimulation of sore sites and strong
neurologic sites in the region of pain, followed by
stretching of the stiff muscle.
For Chronic pain conditions, not in acute pain.
49. SUPERFICIAL HEAT : upto a depth of 1-2cm.
Diminishes pain and decreases local muscle spasm.
ULTRASOUND : Deep heating modality.
Not indicated in acute inļ¬ammatory conditions.
CRYOTHERAPY : reduction of i/m temp. to 3Ā°-7Ā°C by
application of cold. (eg: ice)
Works by decreasing the nerve conduction velocity
along pain ļ¬bers.
Applied over a region for 15-20min and 3-4times/day.
Acute phase of treatment.
Bed Rest
Distraction
Therapeutic
modalities
TENS
Superļ¬cial
heat
Ultrasound
Cryotherapy
Acupuncture
Exercise
Hypnosis
50. ACUPUNCTURE :
Most common form of strong counter stimulation.
Chronic pain
Local needling in sore site and strong neurologic site
in the region 30min of low frequency electrical
stimulation i.e. 2-3Hz is added by clipping the
stimulator directly to the inserted needle.
Bed Rest
Distraction
Therapeutic
modalities
TENS
Superļ¬cial
heat
Ultrasound
Cryotherapy
Acupuncture
Exercise
Hypnosis
HYPNOSIS : Application of techniques of attention
modiļ¬cation, paced breathing and muscle
relaxation.
53. T/T of Dentinal pain
ā¢ Removal of carious lesion.
ā¢ Replace existing fractured restorations.
ā¢ Desensitizing toothpastes. (SnF2 & potassium nitrate)
ā¢ Tubule blocking agents - resins, GIC, Ca or silica cont. materials.
Acute Orofacial pain
T/T of Pulpal pain
ā¢ Extirpation of pulp or Extraction of Tooth.
ā¢ Analgesics : Acetaminophen (PCM)
ā¢ Systemic penicillin (Amoxicillin)
54. T/T of Periodontal pain
ā¢ Recover quickly with local treatment.
ā¢ Grinding (selective) of tooth to relieve pain.
ā¢ Irrigation and curettage of pockets.
ā¢ Antibiotics : Amoxicillin, clindamycin, erythromycin stearate).
Acute Orofacial pain
T/T of Gingival pain
ā¢ Correction of faulty contacts between restorations.
ā¢ Irrigation of debris with saline or antibacterial agent
(chlorhexidine)
ā¢ ANUG : swabbing with ChX, or hydrogen peroxide.
55. T/T of Mucosal pain
ā¢ Aphthous lesion - topical corticosteroids and tetracyclineāØ
Topical Diclofenac
ā¢ Acute Herpetic Gingivostomatitis - mild bicarbonate rinse
or saline solution.āØ
Antiviral agents (acyclovir)
Acute Orofacial pain
T/T of Pain from Salivary gland
ā¢ Surgical or Endoscopic approaches to remove the block.
ā¢ In acute bacterial infections - antibiotic therapy.
56. TMJ and Masticatory
myofascial pain
ā¢ Causes: bruxism, occlusal
derrangements,
ā¢ Regional unilateral pain
ā¢ localise around the ear
ā¢ Triggers - aggravated during
jaw function.
ā¢ Asso. signs - dizziness,
soreness of neck, trismus.
Intensity - 0-3 on
VAS.
62. Non-Narcotic
NSAIDS - have
antipyretic, anti-
platelet, anti-
inļ¬ammatory
actions.
Prevent the
formation of PGs
and LTs by
inhibitory action
on COX (cyclo-
oxygenase).
63. Opioids/Narcotic Analgesic
Act by depressing nociceptive neurons while
stimulating non-nociceptive cells.
Elevates threshold for pain.
Alters emotional reaction to pain
Speciļ¬c receptors in CNS
Useful in severe acute pain
and chronic cancer pain.
Contraindicated in chronic
orofacial pain.
64. Topical agents
Anesthetic agents
Gives soothing palliative relief of
inļ¬ammatory pain.
Useful in controlling pain from
exposed/ulcerative tissue, exposed
dentin and acute alveolitis.
65. Injectable LA
LA are alkaloid bases - combine with acids to form
water soluble salts.
Blockade of sodium channels and thus failure of pain
to achieve threshold potential.
66. Vasoactive agents
Neurovascular pain may be inļ¬uenced by
alpha adrenergenic blocking action of
ergotamine tartrate, which causes
stimulating effect on smooth muscles of
peripheral and cranial vessels.
It is available with or without addition
of caffeine. Caffeine enhances vaso-
constricting effect
67. Non epinephrine blockers
Guanethine and reserpine appears to
block the uptake of nonepinephrine by
sensitized axons used in treatment of
orofacial pain by blocking satellite
ganglion
These are commonly used in rheumatoid
arthritis
68. Muscle Relaxants
Used to control myogenous pain
Anticholinergics-āØ
Succinyl CholineāØ
Methocarbamol
For TMJ disorders: Cyclobenzaprine,
started at lower dosages (5ā10 mg) and
taken 1ā2 hours before bedtime.
69. Antidepressants
Tricyclic antidepressants - increase availability of
serotonin in CSF. āØ
Amitriptyline 10mg before sleep.
MAO inhibitors - increases serotonin by inhibiting its
breakdown.
71. DIET
L tryptophan - dietary
supplement
Increased activity of
serotonin - associated with
analgesia and enhanced drug
potency.
1. L tryptophan 4 grams of
per day
2. Low protein, low fat, high
carbohydrate
3. Vitamin B-6 10-25 mg/day
72. Create a comprehensive population health-level
strategy for pain prevention, treatment,
management and research.
Accepting the population-based, public health
nature of pain prevention and control
confronts pain medicine with a major challenge.
Necessity - understand the experience of pain,
its prevention, and control.
CONCLUSION