Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Management of Atypical Odontalgia

Abstract

Introduction Atypical odontalgia (AO) often associated with neuropathic, vascular or psychiatric disorders. It is frequently misdiagnosed leading unnecessary treatments. This study assesses knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding AO among dentists.

Methodology: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, set of 20 questions was developed and tested for face and content validity. Pretesting was done on 10% of the sample (N=181), and necessary modifications were made. The final questionnaire was distributed via Google Forms, and 181 responses were collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS v20.

Results: Among 181 study participants, 176 (97.2%) actively practiced dentistry to date, and 129 (71.3%) encountered patients with atypical odontalgia. More than half of them, 104 (57.5%) used the term atypical odontalgia, followed by other terminologies like psychogenic pain (23, 12.7%) and chronic idiopathic pain (26, 14.4%). Most of them (93, 51.4%) thought that atypical odontalgia may be of neuropathic, psychological, or vascular in origin. At least once in every six months, or once during their practice, atypical odontalgia was encountered by 35 dentists (19.3%). Out of 181 dentists, 53 (29.3%) have confidence in the management of AO. However, most of them referred to an oral medicine specialist.

Conclusions: The study showed that although the case like atypical odontalgia is commonly encountered in dental practices, notable gaps in attitude, knowledge and management or treatment practices is seen. Limited awareness on its etiology, especially when it is linked with neuropathic and psychiatric comorbidities and lack of evidence based management criteria has led to inappropriate and unnecessary irreversible dental treatments.