Ineffective dental and surgical treatment associated with atypical facial pain.

Patients with atypical facial pain (AFP) are subject to ineffective dental and surgical procedures for their pain complaints. Twenty-one of fifty-eight patients (36.2 percent) with AFP had sixty-five dental and surgical treatments, with only one patient showing less pain as a result of the treatment. While the majority of patients (69 percent) with AFP suffered from a psychiatric illness, fourteen (24 percent) of the patients referred for AFP had a specific medical or dental disorder that was causal in their pain complaints. There is a trend for the AFP patient with a psychiatric diagnosis to receive more ineffective treatments than those AFP patients for whom a specific medical or dental diagnosis was made. Patients with AFP should receive conservative dental and medical treatment and a psychiatric assessment before dental and surgical procedures are contemplated.