REVIEW ARTICLE
The Periodontium as a Potential Cause of Orofacial Pain:
A Comprehensive Review
Jaume Miranda-Rius1, 3, *, Lluís Brunet-Llobet2, 3, Eduard Lahor-Soler1, 3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2018Volume: 12
First Page: 520
Last Page: 528
Publisher ID: TODENTJ-12-520
DOI: 10.2174/1874210601812010520
Article History:
Received Date: 24/4/2018Revision Received Date: 25/6/2018
Acceptance Date: 16/7/2018
Electronic publication date: 31/07/2018
Collection year: 2018

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction:
Orofacial pain of periodontal origin has a wide range of causes, and its high prevalence and negative effect on patients' quality of life make intervention mandatory. This review provides a periodontological overview of the field of orofacial pain, focusing on the entities which involve the periodontal tissues and may be the cause of this pain or discomfort.
Methods:
The study comprised a literature search of these pathologies conducted in the MEDLINE/PubMed Database. Acute infectious entities such as gingival and periodontal abscesses are emergencies that require a rapid response. Periodontitis associated with endodontic processes, necrotizing periodontal disorders, desquamative gingivitis, gingival recession, and mucogingival herpetic lesions, cause mild to severe pain due to tissue destruction and loss. Other lesions that lead to periodontal discomfort include gingival enlargement and periodontal ligament strains associated with occlusal trauma, parafunctional habit and the impaction of food or foreign bodies.
Conclusion:
A range of therapeutic, pharmacological and surgical alternatives are available for the management of these injuries. However, the wide variety of causes of orofacial pain or periodontal discomfort may confuse the clinician during diagnosis and may lead to the wrong choice of treatment.