Dentists’ and Specialists’ Knowledge of Chronic Orofacial Pain: Results from a Continuing Professional Development Survey

Abstract

Aim To explore the knowledge of chronic orofacial pain within general dental practitioners (GDPs) and dental specialists. Methods Following a recent national survey of GDPs and specialists on the diagnosis of facial pain, all those who responded were asked to answer four multiple-choice questions on chronic orofacial pain as part of a continuing professional development exercise. The questions were formulated using a review of the literature and consultation with a facial pain expert and were administered by post. Results Of the 380 subjects who completed the original survey, 212 (56%) returned completed multiple-choice questionnaires. Specialists correctly answered significantly more questions than GDPs ( P<0.001). The majority of specialists—49/83 (59%)—obtained a score of three or more, compared to 39/129 (30%) GDPs. This was due to variation in answering one question. Significantly more specialists—50 (60%)—correctly selected trigeminal neuralgia (TN) as a condition that is not associated with COFP, whereas only 41 (32%) GDPs chose this answer. Both specialists and GDPs grossly underestimated the prevalence of COFP in secondary care clinics. Conclusions The results suggest that specialists and GDPs may have sufficient knowledge to make an appropriate diagnosis of COFP, but they also highlight the knowledge gaps and perhaps the need for more extensive inclusion of COFP in the dental undergraduate curriculum.