The importance of the initial comprehensive dental examination.

New diagnostic technology that improves patient care is becoming more common in dental practices at both the generalist and specialist levels. However, new diagnostic tests may be ordered prematurely or given more importance than warranted, resulting in misdiagnoses or delay of appropriate treatment. In this report, we describe a case in which several oral health care professionals failed to diagnose persistent facial pain correctly, in part because of failure to conduct a comprehensive dental examination and over-reliance on new technology. During 13 months of persistent mandibular pain, various diagnoses and treatments, the patient did not have a comprehensive dental examination-an examination that would have revealed periradicular periodontitis in tooth 25 causing the referred mandibular pain. This case demonstrates the importance and value of the initial comprehensive history and clinical examination, followed by conventional imaging to arrive at an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.