• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.25-27
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• 2017

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease which affects whole gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus. Crohn's disease may present both oral manifestation and gastrointestinal symptom-abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, anorexia, fever, and growth failure. The prevalence rate of oral manifestation is approximately between 0.5% and 20%. The oral lesion could be the first sign of Crohn's disease. We present a case of Crohn's disease in a patient who did not show typical oral manifestations but had nonspecific aphthous like ulceration and burning sensation for many years. Through this case, we suggest approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of the oral lesion of Crohn's disease.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.72-75
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• 2016

Lichen planus is a chronic disease characterized by bilateral and multiple lesions on the skin or oral mucosa. Lichen planus is caused by immune mediated degeneration along the border between epithelium and connective tissue. The incidence of oral squamous cell carcinoma in patients diagnosed with oral lichen planus (OLP) is reported to be between 0.4%-5.6% in different studies and the World Health Organization has categorized lichen planus as "a potentially malignant disorder". However, the correlation between OLP and oral cancer still remains controversial as some reported that the reason for increased incidence of squamous cell carcinoma in OLP patient is misdiagnosis of dysplastic lesion as OLP. This report aims to discuss the correlation between OLP and oral cancer through a case of middle aged woman diagnosed with OLP who was successfully treated but developed squamous cell carcinoma 8 years later.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.475-484
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a PNF orofacial exercise program on diadochokinesis in subacute stroke patients with dysarthria. Methods: Thirteen subacute stroke inpatients with dysarthria were recruited for the study. All participants were randomly assigned to two groups: an experimental group (n=7) and a control group (n=6). The experimental group performed a PNF orofacial exercise program, and the control group carried out an orofacial self-exercise. Both groups received the treatments 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for 4 weeks. The outcome measures were assessed before and after the intervention, including an alternating motion rate (AMR) and sequential motion rate for diadochokinesis. Results: After the intervention, both groups showed significant improvement in diadochokinesis (p<0.05). In the change values for both groups, the experimental group showed a more significant improvement than the control group did in /pə/ of AMR (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that PNF orofacial exercise programs may have positive effects on the improvement of diadochokinesis in subacute stroke patients with dysarthria.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.147-151
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• 2018

Disuse atrophy involves gradual muscle weakening due to inadequate usage and can cause temporomandibular disorder (TMD). A 45-year old man with TMD symptoms on the left side, who had disuse atrophy of the masticatory muscles on the right side following surgical removal of a trigeminal schwannoma on the right side, first visited the Department of Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine at Kyung Hee University Dental Hospital with left jaw pain and difficulty in opening mouth and chewing. He had been experiencing difficulties in cognitive function, decrease in visual acuity, impaired speech, and writing deficits after brain surgery. Furthermore, he complained of abnormal occlusion on the right side, which interfered with his ability to chew comfortably and open his mouth effectively. Herein, we describe a contralateral TMD case due to ipsilateral disuse atrophy after brain surgery for a trigeminal schwannoma and our successful treatment with medication, physical therapy, and stabilization splint.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.327-335
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• 2020

As the interest in oral health is increasing with quality of life. The most representative oral diseases include dental caries, periodontal disease, and malocclusion, as well as dry mouth and oral mucosa. Cinnamaldehyde have an antioxidant effect that has been studied not only to treat rheumatism and hypertension, but also to protect liver, and gastrointestinal tract, but there are few studies related to the control of oral diseases. The purpose of this study was the effect of enhanced orofacial pain when oral administration of cinnamaldehyde in the oral diseases. Cinnamaldehyde (5, 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg) orally administered at a dose of 1 mL, and the change in biological response was confirmed after a week. In addition, 5% formalin (30, 50 μL) was injected into TMJ and subcutaneous areas of the whiskers of rats to observe the change in the threshold of the improved orofacial pain model. As a result of the experiment, in the xerostomia model, drinking water was decreased in the cinnamaldehyde-administered group, feed intake and weight increased, and saliva was also increased compared to the naïve group. In particular, the most significant increase trend was observed at the concentrations of 25 and 50 mg/kg. In addition, it was confirmed that the pain behavioral response of the orofacial area improved by oral diseases decreased depending on the concentration of cinnamaldehyde. Based on these results, cinnamaldehyde effectively reduced symptoms related to xerostomia and showed improved pain relief in the orofacial areas.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.365-374
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• 2021

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays a role in various cellular phenomena, including autophagy, cell proliferation, and differentiation. Although recent studies have reported its involvement in nociceptive responses in several pain models, whether mTOR is involved in orofacial pain processing is currently unexplored. This study determined whether rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, reduces nociceptive responses and the number of Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-ir) cells in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) in a mouse orofacial formalin model. We also examined whether the glial cell expression and phosphorylated p38 (p-p38) mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in the TNC are affected by rapamycin. Mice were intraperitoneally given rapamycin (0.1, 0.3, or 1.0 mg/kg); then, 30 min after, 5% formalin (10 μl) was subcutaneously injected into the right upper lip. The rubbing responses with the ipsilateral forepaw or hindpaw were counted for 45 min. High-dose rapamycin (1.0 mg/kg) produced significant antinociceptive effects in both the first and second phases of formalin test. The number of Fos-ir cells in the ipsilateral TNC was also reduced by high-dose rapamycin compared with vehicle-treated animals. Furthermore, the number of p-p38-ir cells the in ipsilateral TNC was significantly decreased in animals treated with high-dose rapamycin; p-p38 expression was co-localized in microglia, but not neurons and astrocytes. Therefore, the mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, reduces orofacial nociception and Fos expression in the TNC, and its antinociceptive action on orofacial pain may be associated with the inhibition of p-p38 MAPK in the microglia.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.247-255
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• 2019

Curcuma longa L. (C.L), Curcuma aromatica Salisb. (C.A) and Zingiber officinale Rosc. (Z.O) of Zingiberaceae plants which are well known as effects of natural anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. We examined that the Zingiberaceae plants are involved in development and modulation of orofacial pain in rats. Male, 7- to 8-week-old, Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 240~280 g were used in this study. Experiments were performed using acute pain model that was caused by the injection of 5% formalin into the right vibrissa pad. The number of scratching or rubbing to the injection site was recorded for 9 consecutive 5-minute intervals following injection of formalin. The experimental groups were acute orofacial inflammatory pain; control group (formalin, 5%), vehicle group (5% formalin after sodium carboxymethyl cellulose), single administration group, single mixed administration group, repeated administration group. The experiments were performed various concentrations of Zingiberaceae plants extract. Therefore, oral administration of C.L, C.A, and Z.O (p.o., concentrations of 12.5, 25 mg/mL) in orofacial inflammatory pain model substantially decrease the nociceptive behavior in a concentration dependent manner. And it tended to decrease at low concentration (12.5 mg/mL) of single mixed and repeated administration more than single administration. This result means that Zingiberaceae plants extract affects the modulation of acute orofacial inflammatory pain. Thus, Zingiberaceae plants extract may be a potential therapeutic treatment for orofacial inflammatory pain.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.289-294
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• 2022

Background: Orofacial pain is defined as pain felt in the soft or hard tissues of the head, face, mouth, and neck. Chronic orofacial pain is often challenging to diagnose and difficult to treat. Due to the lack of available information about the prevalence and clinical form of orofacial pain, this study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of chronic orofacial pain in patients presenting at the Department of Oral Medicine of Shahid Beheshti Dental School between 2012 and 2022. Methods: In this retrospective study, we evaluated the files of 121 patients at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases of Shahid Beheshti Dental School, which were completed during 2012-2022. We extracted the required information from these files. Results: In total, 121 files were included in the study (30 male, 91 female). The mean age of the patients was 43.68 ± 16.79 years. The most common diagnosis in patients with chronic orofacial pain was temporomandibular disorders (TMD) (55.3%). Among pain-related factors, psychological factors showed the highest frequency (30.5%). Opening and closing (43.8%) had the highest frequency among factors that increased pain, and the rest (6.6%) had the highest frequency among the factors that reduced pain. Most patients experienced unilateral pain over the masseter area. Most patients reported their pain intensity to be greater than 7 in the verbal analog scale (VAS). The most common symptom associated with pain was joint noise (37.1%). Conclusion: A ten-year retrospective evaluation of patient files showed that more than half of the patients with chronic orofacial pain had TMD.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.375-382
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• 2008

This study was a preliminary study to establish diagnostic criterias and treatment for Orofacial Movement Disorders. The 33 Orofacial Movement Disorder patients who were visited in the department of Oral Medicine from September, 2007 to December, 2007 were selected for this study. We analyzed the age, sex, systemic diseases, the diagnosis and the cause of the patients' chief complaints, the self-consciousness and the types of orofacial movements. The obtained results were as follows : 1. Female were predominant in orofacial movement disorders(81.82% vs 18.18%) and mean age was 78.78(56 to 87) years. 2. They almost had systemic diseases(81.82%). Hypertenstion was the most common disease(22.41%) and diabetes mellitus(17.24%), depression(8.62%), gastritis(8.62%) in turns. 3. In clinical manifestation, temporomandibular disorder was the most frequently complained symptom(33.33%), and soft tissue disease(21.57%), burning mouth syndrome(17.65%), orofacial movement itself(15.69%), diffuse orofacial pain(6명, 11.76%) in turns. 4. Most orofacial movement disorders are idiopathic(72.73%), and related to prosthetic treatment(24.24%), related to antidepressant medication(3.03%) in turns. 5. The jaw-closing type was the most common type of orofacial movement disorders, and lateral type(33.33%), jaw-opening types(16.67%) in turns. 6. There were more patients who did not conscious of their orofacial movements than those who did.(54.55% vs 45.45%). In conclusion, dentists must be consider the orofacial movement disorders in patients who have orofacial pain. Also, dentists should obtain a proper history and perform a clinical examination to avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate, irreversible treatment.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.61-71
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the comparison between the subjective and the objective evaluation of pain control effect in masticatory muscle pain depending on time and dose change. Methods: The patients were recruited to this study and diagnosed according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD). Experimental group were divided into three groups; saline injection group (n=10), morphine 1.5 mg injection group (n=10), and morphine 3.0 mg injection group (n=10). Evaluation list was the subjective pain evaluation (visual analogue scale, McGill pain questionnaire) and the objective pain evaluation (pressure pain threshold [PPT], pressure pain tolerance [PTO]). The subjective and the objective pain evaluation were performed at the times of just before injection, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 24 hours, and 48 hours after injection. Then, data were statistically analyzed. Results: The results were as follows: 1) There is no statistically significant difference between the results of the subjective and the objective pain evaluation with regard to the short-term (within 1 hour) analgesic effect of morphine sulfate. 2) However, after 1 hour of injection, while the subjective pain evaluation score still decreased, the objective pain evaluation didn't show significant changes in PPT and PTO (1 hour, p<0.05; 24 hours, p<0.01; 48 hours, p<0.001). 3) In comparison to changes in the dose, the McGill pain questionnaire was the most statistically effective method among the subjective pain evaluations (1.5 mg, p<0.05; 3 mg, p<0.01). Conclusions: Therefore, it was revealed that the subjective pain evaluation was more effective to evaluate long-term pain control, and that the McGill pain questionnaire could be an effective way to evaluate pain control depending on dose changes. It requires further investigations with time and dose extension.