A Simple Working Classification Proposed for Orofacial Pain (OFP) Commonly Encountered in Dental Practice.

LETTER TO EDITORS

Orofacial pain (OFP) is the presenting symptom of a broad spectrum of diseases and is commonly encountered in dental practice. There are currently four main pain classification systems relevant to OFP: a) the International Association for the Study of Pain, b) the International Classification of Headache Disorders, c) the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, and d) the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders [1]. More recently, a new taxonomy model for classifying OFP based on ontological principles was proposed [2]. In addition, a simple working type classification for psychosomatic disorders of the oral cavity has been proposed [3]. This letter calls attention to a proposed simple working classification based on etiology for OFP commonly encountered in dental practice (Table 1).

Table 1

A Simple Working Classification Proposed for Orofacial Pain (OFP) Commonly Encountered in Dental Practice