抄録
Atypical odontalgia （AO）, which is toothache with no identifiable cause, is a psychosomatic disorder almost as common as burning mouth syndrome and oral dysesthesia. Antidepressants such as amitriptyline are commonly used to treat AO due to their reported effectiveness. Recently, there have been reports on the usefulness of Kampo medicines to treat AO, and we too have reported cases in which Kampo alone was as useful as antidepressants. In the present study, we compared the efficacy and safety of Kampo with antidepressants in treating AO and evaluated whether Kampo could be a useful treatment option for AO. Kampo and antidepressants both showed about 70％ efficacy. There was no significant difference in the incidence of side effects, but those of Kampo tended to be fewer. Accordingly, Kampo medicine may be a good therapeutic option to treat AO. However, when selecting a Kampo medicine, it is important to take into account the patient’s pattern as the basis of Kampo treatment.
