抄録
We occasionally encounter atypical facial pain which is notoriously chronic and refractory to treatment. In this paper, a case of long-standing atypical facial pain is reported.
The patient was a 45-year-old woman, who was referred to our clinic on March 7, 1997 due to severe mandibular pain of 54 months duration. The pain appeared 6 months after a mandibular fracture caused by a traffic accident that occurred on March 9, 1992. Since the onset of pain, she had visited many medical facilities but could find no suitable one that could treat the pain.
On her first visit, she complained of not only severe mandibular pain but also lassitude, appetite loss, nausea and insomnia, and had a depressed and neurotic psychological status. In addition, she showed signs of exhaustion due to the persistent long-term pain.
We gave her psychosomatic therapy in addition to the dental treatment, including modality, mind drugs, brief psychotherapy and other treatment, over a period of 55 months. On July 12, 2001, she expressed her determination to discontinue drug therapy and return to society.
