PSYCHOGENIC OROFACIAL PAIN AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN NIGERIA

Psychogenic orofacial pain

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: There is dearth of study reporting overall 
prevalence of psychogenic orofacial pain in our environment, 
and many aspects of such disorder are relatively unknown. 
The goal of this study was to show the overall prevalence of 
psychogenic orofacial pain and to determine the age and 
gender distribution of the various types of psychogenic 
orofacial pain in a Nigerian population. 
PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study 
conducted on patients suffering from psychogenic orofacial 
pain who were referred to the Department of Oral Pathology 
and Medicine, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, over a 
period of 4 years. The differential diagnosis was made on the 
basis of history, clinical examination, laboratory and 
radiographic investigations and by applying the criteria laid 
down by International Association for the Diagnosis of Pain.  
RESULTS: Out of a total of 1,019 patients seen during the 
study period, 57 (5.6%) cases of psychogenic orofacial pain 
were diagnosed.  The males accounted for 36.8% (n=21), 
while the females accounted for 63.2% (n= 36) giving a ratio 
of 1:1.7. Majority of the patients were in the age group of 41 
to 50 years. Analysis showed the patients were suffering from 
temporomandibular pain dysfunction syndrome (TMDS) 38 
(66.7%), burning mouth syndrome (BMS) 9 (15.8%), atypical 
facial pain 6 (10.8%) and, atypical odontalgia 4 (7.0%) 
CONCLUSION: The overall prevalence of psychogenic 
orofacial pain was 5.6% in the population studied. TMDS was 
the most common type, followed by BMS and they occurred 
mostly in young adult female patients.