An Update on Diagnosis and Pharmacologic Therapy for Headache in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Practice

Headaches are synonymous with neurovascular pain (cephalalgias), which comprise a heterogeneous group of pain disorders that share a common anatomic region (head and neck). Headaches are often a "universal" disease presentation that is evaluated by the oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Pharmacologic therapy of headaches is most often based on the severity of symptoms and the degree of disability experienced by the patient. This article describes the epidemiology of neurovascular headaches, their pathophysiologic mechanisms/presentation, the workup of patients, and an up-to-date overview of pharmacologic approaches that can be applied in the oral and maxillofacial surgical practice to treat this patient population.