Perceived need for local anesthesia in tooth drilling among Anglo-Americans, Chinese, and Scandinavians.

This study explored ethnic differences in perceptions of pain and the need for local anesthesia for tooth drilling among age- and gender-matched Anglo-American, Mandarin Chinese, and Scandinavian dentists (n = 129) and adult patients (n = 396) using a systematic qualitative research strategy. Semistructured qualitative interviews determined: (a) the relative frequency of use or nonuse of anesthetic for similarly specified tooth drilling, (b) the reasons for nonuse of anesthetic as reported by dentists about their patients, and (c) the distribution of reasons for not using anesthetic. American dentists (n = 51) reported that about 1% of their adult patients did not use anesthetic compared with 90% among Chinese (n = 31) and 37.5% among Scandinavian dentists (n = 40). Of patients, Americans (n = 112) reported 6% nonuse of anesthetic for tooth drilling compared with 90% of 159 Chinese and 54% of 125 Scandinavians. Reasons among Anglo-Americans and Scandinavians were similar (ranked): the sensation was tolerable, to avoid numb feelings afterwards, and fear of injections. Danish patients were an exception; the fact that they had paid extra and out-of-pocket for anesthetic ranked second. In contrast, Chinese dentists made their decisions not to use anesthetics because they explained drilling as only a suan or "sourish" sensation, whereas injections were described as "painful." It was concluded that ethnic pain beliefs and differences in health-care systems are powerful psychosocial variables that affect pain perception and the perceived need for anesthetic.

Acute pain and use of local anesthesia: tooth drilling and childbirth labor pain beliefs among Anglo-Americans, Chinese, and Scandinavians.

Differences in ethnic beliefs about the perceived need for local anesthesia for tooth drilling and childbirth labor were surveyed among Anglo-Americans, Mandarin Chinese, and Scandinavians (89 dentists and 251 patients) matched for age, gender, and occupation. Subjects matched survey questionnaire items selected from previously reported interview results to estimate (a) their beliefs about the possible use of anesthetic for tooth drilling and labor pain compared with other possible remedies and (b) the choice of pain descriptors associated with the use of nonuse of anesthetic, including descriptions of injection pain. Multidimensional scaling, Gamma, and Chi-square statistics as well as odds ratios and Spearman's correlations were employed in the analysis. Seventy-seven percent of American informants reported the use of anesthetics as possible remedies for drilling and 51% reported the use of anesthetics for labor pain compared with 34% that reported the use of anesthetics among Chinese for drilling and 5% for labor pain and 70% among Scandinavians for drilling and 35% for labor pain. Most Americans and Swedes described tooth-drilling sensations as sharp, most Chinese used descriptors such as sharp and "sourish" (suan), and most Danes used words like shooting (jagende). By rank, Americans described labor pain as cramping, sharp, and excruciating, Chinese used words like sharp, intermittent, and horrible, Danes used words like shooting, tiring, and sharp, and Swedes used words like tiring, "good," yet horrible. Preferred pain descriptors for drilling, birth, and injection pains varied significantly by ethnicity. Results corroborated conclusions of a qualitative study about pain beliefs in relation to perceived needs for anesthetic in tooth drilling. Samples used to obtain the results were estimated to approach qualitative representativity for these urban ethnic groups.

Psychophysiological assessment of stress in chronic pain: comparisons of stressful stimuli and of response systems.

Due to disparate findings across the published studies, the stress-hyperactivity hypothesis has never been fully accepted as a causal mechanism for chronic muscle pain. Two recent comprehensive reviews of the psychophysiological studies of chronic pain came to opposite conclusions about the viability of the hypothesis, which stemmed from differing importance placed on the experimental methodology: the adequacy of stress manipulation. The present study tested the hypotheses that the adequacy of stress manipulation is influenced by stress stimuli type, degree of personal relevance, and selection of criterion for verification of stress experience, and that these factors have a measurable impact on the related physiological responses in a manner that is consistent with a theory of stress applicable to clinical stress disorders. The three factors investigated were: task (imagery, reaction time), relevance (high, low), and manipulation criterion (autonomic, self-report). The tasks were presented to 16 chronic pain patients while muscle, electrodermal, and self-report responses were recorded. Reaction-time tasks and high-relevance conditions led to high muscle and electrodermal responses. Only the high-relevance imagery, however, produced high self-reported distress. Consistent with other research, the present overall data demonstrated differing physiological profiles for different stimuli types. More importantly, these data suggest that the manipulation type and the manipulation criterion influence outcomes of experimental tests of stress on physiological systems, which may directly lead to contrasting conclusions about causal relations between stress and chronic pain conditions.

Hypnotic control of pain: historical perspectives and future prospects.

Hypnotic analgesia has occupied a pivotal place in experimental and clinical hypnosis. It emerged early in the 19th century when effective clinical techniques for pain management had not yet developed, and the relief of pain and suffering had not even become a well-defined social goal. Its acceptance was further complicated by political struggles surrounding the humanitarian transformation of medicine during this era as well as a redefinition of the physician-patient relationship that wrested control from the patient. The initial struggle for professional acceptance was won only when the debate became almost entirely localized within the professional community. Acceptance of hypnosis by professional organizations has been followed by alternating periods of interest and indifference. While the evidence for the powerful effects of suggestion and related variables has often been observed and reported in nonhypnotic contexts, their relationship to hypnotic phenomena has often not been appreciated. Since the mid-20th century, scientific information about hypnotic analgesia has grown substantially and has had significant influence on strategies for acute and chronic pain management. If recent calls for its wider application in pain management are to succeed, it will require additional data from clinical populations and a balanced and scientifically prudent approach by its advocates.

Behavioral and educational modalities.

General agreement has emerged in the scientific literature that behavioral and educational modalities are useful and effective in the management of chronic pain conditions. Behavioral and educational treatment modalities constitute a component of virtually every established chronic pain treatment program. It has been demonstrated that management of temporomandibular disorders has benefited from such behavioral interventions as well. The label "biobehavioral" refers to proven, safe methods that emphasize self-management and acquisition of self-control over not only pain symptoms but also their cognitive attributions or meanings and maintaining a productive level of psychosocial function, even if pain is not totally absent. A large collection of treatment modalities is subsumed under the label of biobehavioral treatments; the most commonly studied of these include biofeedback, stress management, relaxation, hypnosis, and education. An NIH Technology and Assessment Conference held in 1995 comprises the best available summary of the state of the art concerning the suitability of biobehavioral methods as useful approaches to ameliorate chronic pain, including TMD. Educational methods have also been demonstrated to be efficacious in the self-management of headache and back pain, but only limited data are available for TMD. By and large, when biobehavioral treatments are used in the management of TMD, effects are virtually always positive and in the hypothesized beneficial direction. While effects are often moderate in size, these methods show the potential for producing long-lasting benefits when compared with usual clinical treatment for TMD. Research has as yet failed to establish one biobehavioral modality as superior to another. It is important to note that much the same situation is present with regard to the scientifically established validity of many biomedically based TMD treatments.

Benign chronic orofacial pain. Clinical criteria and therapeutic approaches.

Trigeminal neuralgia and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain-dysfunction syndrome are the most common benign orofacial pain disorders. Because orofacial pain can arise from many sources and can be exacerbated by emotional stress, diagnosis is complex. Primary trigeminal neuralgia (tic douloureux) is characterized by severe paroxysms of pain often initiated by stimuli applied to trigger zones. Atypical facial neuralgia is a more loosely defined collection of orofacial neuralgias with variable distribution of pain and age of onset. Treatment (ie, pharmacologic and surgical procedures, nerve blocks, alcohol injection) is often based on the theoretical biases of clinicians. The most common clinical findings in TMJ pain-dysfunction syndrome are localized facial pain, mandibular dysfunction, and joint sounds. Therapy includes use of drugs to relieve pain and relax muscles, elimination of occlusal discrepancies, and surgical procedures. Psychologic referral is usually considered a last resort.