Coping with tooth pain: a qualitative study of lay management strategies and professional consultation.

This research analyzes transcripts of semi-structured interviews with patients presenting with tooth pain at a rural dental clinic in North Florida. The primary objectives are to identify the strategies patients use to manage their pain and to elucidate the decision-making process leading to the clinic visit. Although respondents understood that their condition was not self-limiting, only about one-half contacted the clinic within several days of the onset of their pain. Most tried one or more lay management strategies.