Background: Chronic orofacial pain is a biopsychosocial problem. Pain description and intensity have been previously reported by the authors. This follow up study reports on the presence and severity of psychological morbidity and personality changes associated with chronic orofacial pain. Methods: A total of 415 questionnaires for psychological morbidity (238 chronic orofacial pain patients and 175 controls) and 205 responses for personality changes (105 pain patients and 100 controls) were analyzed. Demographic and socioeconomic data included sex, age, marital status, level of education and current work status. Psychological variables tested were depression, anger, fear, distress, frustration and anxiety. Pain patients indicated descriptors of their personalities 'pre-pain' and 'with pain'.

Background: Pain is defined as both a sensory and an emotional experience. Acute postoperative tooth extraction pain is assessed and treated as a physiological (sensory) pain while chronic pain is a biopsychosocial problem. The purpose of this study was to assess whether psychological and social changes occur in the acute pain state. Methods: A biopsychosocial pain questionnaire was completed by 438 subjects (165 males, 273 females) with acute postoperative pain at 24 hours following the surgical extraction of teeth and compared with 273 subjects (78 males, 195 females) with chronic orofacial pain. Statistical methods used a k-means cluster analysis. Results: Three clusters were identified in the acute pain group: 'unaffected', 'disabled' and 'depressed, anxious and disabled'. Psychosocial effects showed 24.8 per cent feeling 'distress/suffering' and 15.1 per cent 'sad and depressed'. Females reported higher pain intensity and more distress, depression and inadequate medication for pain relief (p<0.001). Distress and depression were associated with higher pain intensity. The developed questionnaire had tested reliability (test-retest r=0.89) and estimated validity. Conclusion: Cluster analysis showed constituent groups with a range of psychosocial effects in acute postoperative dental extraction pain and is associated with an increase in pain intensity.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a leading cause of neurological disability in young and middle-aged populations, associated with substantial burden of illness.Because a growing literature now shows that this burden extends to poorer oral health, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) may be reduced as well.Objectives: To test whether people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) have poorer OHRQoL than demographically matched controls, and to establish which variables are associated with worse OHRQoL. Materials and Methods:In total, 64 people with RRMS and 69 demographically matched controls participated. Both groups completed the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14), a validated measure of OHRQoL, as well as an objective oral health examination performed by a qualified dentist, a measure of dental-related functionality and a measure of mental health.Results: OHRQoL was significantly poorer in the RRMS relative to the control group.However, although poorer OHRQoL in the RRMS group was moderately associated with objectively assessed oral health (r = .30), it was more strongly associated with mental health (r = .61). For the control group, the reverse pattern of association was evident, with OHRQoL more strongly associated with oral health (r = .48) relative to mental health (r = .20). Conclusion:People with RRMS report poorer OHRQoL than demographically matched controls, but these appraisals are more strongly linked to mental health than to objective oral health indicators. K E Y W O R D S multiple sclerosis, neurological disorder, oral health, oral health-related quality of life, wellbeing | 63 NANGLE et al. How to cite this article: Nangle MR, Manchery N, Swayne A, Boocock H, Blum S, Henry JD. Oral health-related quality of life is more strongly correlated with mental health than with oral health in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.