• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.26-28
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• 2014

Nasopharyngeal cancer is malignant tumor of nasopharyngeal area that is characterized of lymphadenopathy, pain, otitis media, hearing loss and cranial nerve palsy and may present symptoms similar to temporomandibular disorder such as facial pain and trismus. In this case, the patient with symptoms similar to temporomandibular disorder after surgery for otitis media presented with facial paresthesia and masticatory muscle weakness. Examinaion of trigemimal nerve was shown sensory and motor abnormaility. The patient was referred to a neurologist. Nasopharyngeal cancer was suspected on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging and was confirmed by biopsy. If the patient presenting with paresthesia and muscle weakness the cranial nerve examination should be performed regardless of typical temporomandibular disorder symptom. The neurologic symptom can be caused by neoplasm such as brain tumor and nasopharyngeal cancer. Nasopharyngeal cancer on rosenmuller fossa can develop otitis media. Therefore, the patient with otitis media history should be consulted to otorhinolaryngologist to examin the nasopharyngeal area.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.144-147
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• 2022

Chronic maxillary sinusitis is a common disease, with symptoms of dull, aching pain or pressure below the eyes and signs such as tenderness over the involved sinus, whereas trigeminal neuralgia is described as severe, paroxysmal, and lancinating brief pain limited in distributions of one or more divisions of trigeminal nerve. In cases where these two non-odontogenic toothache symptoms overlaps, the diagnostic process can be confusing. Here, we report a case of a 54-year-old male patient with chief complaints of intermittent, severe, and electric-like pain in the upper left premolar and first molar area, initially diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia but finally with maxillary sinusitis after pain recurrence 2 years after that. Therefore, thorough history taking and precise imaging interpretation should be considered to make correct diagnose especially in case of a patient with newly developed or altered or atypical symptoms.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.52-55
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• 2018

In the present case study, we reported a female patient with sialodochitis fibrinosa in which a conservative ultrasound (US)-guided irrigation method was used to relieve her symptoms. A 30-year-old female patient visited Kyung Hee University Dental Hospital with chief complaints of persistent swelling and discomfort in the left facial area. Her primary symptom was facial swelling that was accompanied by neuropathological symptoms, such as itching, tingling, and warmth that usually continued for 3 to 4 days. During clinical examination of orofacial area, mild swelling and fever were noted in the left face including parotid region, and mild induration could be felt at the corresponding site; sialadenitis of the left parotid gland was tentatively diagnosed. Herein, we performed intraductal irrigation of the left parotid gland in three times per month and prescribed some medication. Thus, her signs and symptoms have been improved, and she did not experience a recurrence for 12-month follow-up to date. This study can support the usefulness of the US-guided irrigation method to treat the sialodochitis fibrinosa without remarkable side effects.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.200-204
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• 2016

Numb chin syndrome, or mental neuropathy is a rare sensory neuropathy characterized by abnormal sensation such as hypoesthesia, paresthesia, or dysesthesia in the chin and lower lip innervated by the mental nerve. Sensory neuropathy of mental nerve is somewhat familiar to dentists because it can occur following nerve damage by trauma or dental treatment such as implant surgery or third molar extraction. It can also result from dental causes including abscess or osteomyelitis. However, it can be the first sign of the systemic disease or malignancy if it is not related to dental causes. In this study, we present the case of a patient who present with hypoesthesia and pain in chin area without other symptoms and is later diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.43-50
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• 2011

Voltage dependent calcium channel (VDCC), one of the most important regulator of $Ca^{2+}$ concentration in neuron, play an essential role in the central processing of nociceptive information. The present study investigated the antinociceptive effects of L, T or N type VDCC blockers on the formalin-induced orofacial inflammatory pain. Experiments were carried out on adult male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 220-280 g. Anesthetized rats were individually fixed on a stereotaxic frame and a polyethylene (PE) tube was implanted for intracisternal injection. After 72 hours, 5% formalin ($50 \;{\mu}L$) was applied subcutaneously to the vibrissa pad and nociceptive scratching behavior was recorded for nine successive 5 min intervals. VDCC blockers were administered intracisternally 20 minutes prior to subcutaneous injection of formalin into the orofacial area. The intracisternal administration of 350 or $700{\mu}g$ of verapamil, a blocker of L type VDCC, significantly decreased the number of scratches and duration in the behavioral responses produced by formalin injection. Intracisternal administration of 75 or $150 \;{\mu}g$ of mibefradil, a T type VDCC blocker, or 11 or $22\; {\mu}g$ of cilnidipine, a N type VDCC blocker, also produced significant suppression of the number of scratches and duration of scratching in the first and second phase. Neither intracisternal administration of all VDCC blockers nor vehicle did not affect in motor dysfunction. The present results suggest that central VDCCs play an important role in orofacial nociceptive transmission and a targeted inhibition of the VDCCs is a potentially important treatment approach for inflammatory pain originating in the orofacial area.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.327-335
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• 2020

As the interest in oral health is increasing with quality of life. The most representative oral diseases include dental caries, periodontal disease, and malocclusion, as well as dry mouth and oral mucosa. Cinnamaldehyde have an antioxidant effect that has been studied not only to treat rheumatism and hypertension, but also to protect liver, and gastrointestinal tract, but there are few studies related to the control of oral diseases. The purpose of this study was the effect of enhanced orofacial pain when oral administration of cinnamaldehyde in the oral diseases. Cinnamaldehyde (5, 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg) orally administered at a dose of 1 mL, and the change in biological response was confirmed after a week. In addition, 5% formalin (30, 50 μL) was injected into TMJ and subcutaneous areas of the whiskers of rats to observe the change in the threshold of the improved orofacial pain model. As a result of the experiment, in the xerostomia model, drinking water was decreased in the cinnamaldehyde-administered group, feed intake and weight increased, and saliva was also increased compared to the naïve group. In particular, the most significant increase trend was observed at the concentrations of 25 and 50 mg/kg. In addition, it was confirmed that the pain behavioral response of the orofacial area improved by oral diseases decreased depending on the concentration of cinnamaldehyde. Based on these results, cinnamaldehyde effectively reduced symptoms related to xerostomia and showed improved pain relief in the orofacial areas.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.148-151
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• 2022

Obstructive sialadenitis, one of the diseases that most frequently causes swelling and pain in the salivary glands, is mainly caused by structural obstructions. Sialolithiasis is the most frequent cause of the disease, and other causes include calculus formation, duct strictures, foreign bodies, and anatomical variations. Although there is a possibility that facial fillers directly block the salivary ducts, no cases of obstructive sialadenitis associated with them have been reported yet. We report the case of a 34-year-old female patient who complained of recurrent swelling and pain in the left buccal mucosa. She had undergone facial filler injection procedures on her facial area for cosmetic purposes several years before. Based on the findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MR sialography, she was diagnosed with obstructive sialadenitis due to facial fillers. Through this case, we should remember to obtain a thorough history including filler treatments in the case of parotid gland swelling. We also suggest proper utilization of advanced imaging such as MRI in evaluating the location of facial fillers.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.195-199
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• 2016

Central sensitization represents a functional change of second order neuron induced by continuous deep pain input and maintained by psychosocial factors. When afferent neurons are involved with central sensitization, secondary hyperalgesia can appear. Secondary hyperalgesia is an increased sensitivity to stimulation without a local cause. Reports on secondary hyperalgesia to heat stimuli are relatively rare compared to mechanical stimuli. And there were few reports of secondary hyperalgesia to heat stimuli in the oral cavity. We presented a case of secondary hyperalgesia to heat stimuli in the gingival area induced by continuous odontogenic pain with a review of the related literature.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.233-240
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• 2019

Chronic orofacial pain is an umbrella term as a kind of painful regional syndromes to describe unremitting and prolonged pains in orofacial area. It is frequently characterized with the intractable pain without the proportionally corresponding tissue pathology over 3 months. Accordingly, it is difficult or almost impossible to establish the causally oriented treatment strategies in those cases, while multidisciplinary approaches were usually considered for preventing prolonged pain conditions from limiting daily life. Among a variety of approaches, pharmacological approach was clinically based on proper applications of several groups of drugs useful to relieve or alleviate pain. These drugs usually encompass several analgesics, muscle relaxants, anti-depressants, anticonvulsants and so on. Therefore, it is essential for dental clinician to be aware of the many peculiarities of these medications applied for management of chronic orofacial pain disorders. This review focused on the clinical considerations for the careful drug selection and application including dosages and adverse drug reactions.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.289-294
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• 2022

Background: Orofacial pain is defined as pain felt in the soft or hard tissues of the head, face, mouth, and neck. Chronic orofacial pain is often challenging to diagnose and difficult to treat. Due to the lack of available information about the prevalence and clinical form of orofacial pain, this study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of chronic orofacial pain in patients presenting at the Department of Oral Medicine of Shahid Beheshti Dental School between 2012 and 2022. Methods: In this retrospective study, we evaluated the files of 121 patients at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases of Shahid Beheshti Dental School, which were completed during 2012-2022. We extracted the required information from these files. Results: In total, 121 files were included in the study (30 male, 91 female). The mean age of the patients was 43.68 ± 16.79 years. The most common diagnosis in patients with chronic orofacial pain was temporomandibular disorders (TMD) (55.3%). Among pain-related factors, psychological factors showed the highest frequency (30.5%). Opening and closing (43.8%) had the highest frequency among factors that increased pain, and the rest (6.6%) had the highest frequency among the factors that reduced pain. Most patients experienced unilateral pain over the masseter area. Most patients reported their pain intensity to be greater than 7 in the verbal analog scale (VAS). The most common symptom associated with pain was joint noise (37.1%). Conclusion: A ten-year retrospective evaluation of patient files showed that more than half of the patients with chronic orofacial pain had TMD.