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Trigeminal Neuralgia in the Arab World Together with an Update on the Understanding, and Appropriate Strategies for Its Diagnosis and Management by the Dental Practitioners

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Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World

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Abstract

The area from the skull to the neck is a territory shared by a number of health professionals, dentists are among them. Numerous pains originating from this region share similarities in clinical features and patterns. Incorrect diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a common practice, as it has substantial similarity to orofacial pains (OFPs) of dental and nondental origin. Many a time, TN is not accurately diagnosed and wrongly attributed to disorders affecting the eyes, nose, throat, odontogenic, and other cervico-craniofacial structures. The sufferers remain bewildered as to who they should consult for appropriate diagnosis and management of TN. The patients keep wandering from one practitioner/specialist to another in the hope of seeking pain relief. TN pain is a notable form of painful affliction that is commonly encountered by dentists. Interestingly, many dentists have initial contact with the patients presenting with suggestive clinical features of TN. It is generally recognized among dental professionals that patients with orofacial neuropathic or neurovascular pain pose a formidable challenge due to complicated diagnosis and management. Dentists with inappropriate knowledge of the diagnosis and management of TN can exacerbate the aggravation of the pain intensity and patient’s suffering. As such, lack of knowledge and risk of medical errors may explain dentists’ hesitation to manage similar cases. Therefore, patients with orofacial pain (OFP) disorders typically go through multiple referrals and delayed treatment, which impact the overall cost of national healthcare, patient recovery, and rehabilitation. For effective management of any chronic pain including TN, a thorough understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanism is of vital importance. Armed with thorough anatomical and pathological knowledge concerned with the orofacial region, dentists are well poised to identify the presence of TN.

This chapter highlights the underreported problem of trigeminal neuralgia in the Arab world. Unfortunately, only limited research is available on the knowledge and understanding of orofacial pain (OFP) and trigeminal neuralgia by dentists/general dental practitioners of the Arab region. This chapter focuses on diagnosis and management of TN that can be of significance in general dental practice for its appropriate diagnosis and management in the Arab world and elsewhere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Divisions of Oral Diagnosis and Oral Medicine, Department of OMFS and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Sameer Shaikh

  2. Division of Endodontics, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Qassim University, Qassim, Saudi Arabia

    Muhammad Atif Saleem Agwan

  3. Division of Periodontology, Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Suresh Babu Jandrajupalli

  4. Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Freah Alshammary

  5. Division of Oral Pathology, Department of Basic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Sundeep Subbaiah Bhagwath

  6. Division of Dental Public Health, Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Ammar Ahmed Siddiqui

Authors
  1. Sameer Shaikh
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  2. Muhammad Atif Saleem Agwan
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  3. Suresh Babu Jandrajupalli
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  4. Freah Alshammary
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  5. Sundeep Subbaiah Bhagwath
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  6. Ammar Ahmed Siddiqui
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sameer Shaikh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Pharmacology Therapeutics, University of British Colombia Dept. Pharmacology Therapeutics, VANCOUVER, BC, Canada

    Ismail Laher

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Shaikh, S., Agwan, M.A.S., Jandrajupalli, S.B., Alshammary, F., Bhagwath, S.S., Siddiqui, A.A. (2020). Trigeminal Neuralgia in the Arab World Together with an Update on the Understanding, and Appropriate Strategies for Its Diagnosis and Management by the Dental Practitioners. In: Laher, I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_205-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_205-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74365-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74365-3

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