Botulinum Toxin in Dentistry and Treatment of Chronic Orofacial Pain Publisher



Etemadmoghadam S¹ ; Alaeddini M¹ ; Jabbari B² Show Affiliations
Source: Botulinum Toxin Treatment of Pain Disorders: Second Edition Published:2022

Abstract

Chronic pain of the hard and soft tissues of the face and oral cavity is generally known as orofacial pain (OFP). OFP is a major issue in dentistry and an area of therapeutic challenge for practicing dentists. Due to the unique characteristics of this region and the psychosocial and emotional issues affecting individuals with OFP, access to a safe, conservative, and effective treatment is essential, especially considering that the existing pharmacological options have been inefficient in many patients. Disorders causing OFP with relevance to dentistry are discussed under musculoskeletal, neuropathic, and idiopathic subtypes in this chapter. After describing definitions, classifications, epidemiologic data, and conventional treatments on each entity, we examine the current literature on the effectiveness of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) in alleviating OFP separately for each disorder and present the applied doses, injection points, and administration routes reported in clinical studies. Despite the limited research on chronic OFP, the preliminary reports of BoNT efficacy are promising and offer the potential to improve pain relief in patients’ refractory to conventional treatments. Further high-quality, large well-designed, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials with long follow-up periods are needed to determine the effectiveness of BoNT in the wide range of disorders causing OFP. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2015, 2022, Corrected Publication 2022.