Comparison of the Frequency of Complaints the Type and Severity of Stressful Events in Patients with Atypical Facial Pain and Pain with Specific origin Referring to the Faculty of Dentistry, Zahedan, Iran

Atypical Facial Pain (AFP) refers to the sensation of pain in oral mucosa without any visible mucosal lesions and can be diagnosed during a clinical examination. Doctors who are not aware of AFP do not take the symptoms seriously and consider it as an unrealistic feeling. The ignorance of doctors in this regard increases anxiety and the sense of pain in patients.

The present study was performed on 47 eligible patients with AFP who were similar to the control group regarding their age and gender. The Holmes-Rahe stress inventory and the complaint registration form were used to collect the required data which were used to compare the frequency of complaints and the type and severity of stressful events. The collected data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square, Mann–Whitney, multiple regression, and logistic tests. Moreover, a p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

According to the findings, 80.9% of the patients complained of non-dental pain. The results of the Mann-Whitney test revealed no significant difference between the case and control groups regarding the severity of pain (P=0.251). Moreover, the results of the Chi-square test indicated that the duration of pain complaints had a significant difference in the two groups (P=0.004). Furthermore, a comparison of stressful life events revealed that the death of a spouse or a family member, changes in lifestyle (e.g., change of location, activities, diet, sleeping habits, and responsibilities), and changes in living conditions and financial status were the cause of stress in 12.7%, 17.02%, and 14.58% of cases in the control group. In addition, the results of the t-test showed that the level of stress was significantly higher in the case group, compared to the control group (P=0.032).

Based on the findings, there was a significant difference between the patients with AFP and other patients referring to the clinic of Zahedan dental school, regarding the frequency of complaints as well as the type and severity of stressful events.