Orofacial pain(OFP)

Orofacial pain refers to pain associated with the hard tissues and soft tissues of the face, head and neck. The health care professionals who evaluate and treat patients with orofacial pain face the daunting task of keeping up with the literature in the rapidly emerging coliseum of pain management. In dental community complaints of pain in the head and neck region are assuredly a common reason why patients seek treatment.
Dental professionals need to be thorough while evaluating a patient with pain. A detailed history of the presenting illness, medicalhistory, social history should be obtained from the patient. Analyzing the findings help the clinician to synthesize a differential diagnosis. Differential diagnosis of orofacial pain:

• Intracranial pain disorders
• Neuropathic pain disorders- Episodic Neuropathic pain , Continous Neuropathic pain
• Intraoral pain disorders
• Primary headache disorders(migraine,tension type headache,clusterheadache&trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias).
• Temporomandibular disorders(TMD)
• Cervical pain disorders
• Extrcranial and systemic causes of orofacial pain

Temporomandibular Disorders(TMD)

Pain, clicking sound, compromised movement of the jaw joint and the surrounding muscles are included under temporomandibular disorders.The exact cause of TM disorders is often difficult to determine. Pain may be due to combination of factors, such as genetics, arthritis, jaw injury etc.

Accurate diagnosis can be constructed only after performing a thorough clinical assessment including physical examination, laboratory testing, imaging studies, neurologic testing and consultations. Otherwise treatment may not target the appropriate source.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea(OSA)

Sleep is a recurring state of relaxation that is characterized by an altered state of consciousness, muscular inhibitions and severely reduced interactions with outside entities. Sleep itself is a state in which the body builds up and restores the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. Sleep is a universal necessity of humans and approximately one-third of the human life is spent in the sleep state. Disruption/depravation of sleep typically results in adverse physiologic effects.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a disorder in which a person stops breathing during his or her sleep. It results from an obstruction of the upper airway during sleep that occurs because of inandequate motor tone of the tongue and/or airway dialator muscles . Examples of Sleep Disorders

• Insomnia
• Sleep related breathing disorder(Obstructive Sleep Apnea)
• Hypersomnias
• Parasomnias
• Sleep related movement disorder(Sleep related bruxism)
• Snoring