One of the little known areas of expertise for oral and
maxillofacial surgeons is that of the diagnosis and/or treatment of facial pain
and oral pathology. Oral surgeons in general are the primary resource for
general dentists when their patients have abnormalities in the facial and oral
region. The surgeons having spent three to four years in hospital residency
generally will have considerably more experience in the recognition and
treatment of these conditions. Conditions that are commonly seen in and around
the oral cavity would include cysts of varying causes, tumors both benign and
malignant, bacterial and viral infections, autoimmune diseases, and congenital
disorders of a variety of kinds.
Pain in the oral cavity can, of course,
be of dental or periodontal origin. However, it also can include such things as
sinus pain, muscular pain, temporomandibular joint pain, and a variety of
neuralgias. Often pain that appears to be from one particular area is referred
from other areas. The oral and maxillofacial surgeons are familiar with various
diagnostic procedures, such as regular radiology, CT scans, and sophisticated
laboratory procedures. |
