Understanding and managing the interaction between sleep and pain: an update for the dentist

Pain is a symptom well known to disrupt numerous aspects of normal physical and psychological life, including work, social activities and sleep. In daily practice, general dentists and specialists are frequently confronted with issues concerning pain, as their patients seek management that integrates oral health with overall well-being. An example of a dental condition involving pain is temporomandibular disorder, which is one of the most common sources of chronic orofacial pain and which shares similarities with back pain in terms of intensity, persistence and psychosocial impact. The objective of this paper is to inform and aid the general dentist and the specialist concerned with the sleep quality of patients with orofacial pain.