Dental Pain, Neuroanatomy and Control

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses pain mechanisms pertaining to dental pain. It focuses on the most recent and relevant advances in pain research, specifically the neuroanatomical, neurochemical and genetic aspects of pain modulation mechanisms. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor is used to illustrate the model's plasticity and the ways in which pain modulation works. This paper also discusses other mechanisms relevant to dental pain.

From the Paper:

"With the present volume of research that has accrued, pain control may have to veer away from the "killing two birds with one stone" approach that is still in use today. The mere number of modulating mechanisms at work at the genetic, intracellular and neuroanatomical level suggests a shift towards more individualized and effective pain treatment using these mechanisms is in order. Pain control generally attempts to inhibit the propagation of nerve impulses. The mechanisms are numerous, from directly or indirectly inhibiting the firing of neurons propagating pain impulses, stopping the inflammatory cascade at discrete steps in the process to disabling neurons from firing altogether. These include anesthetics, as well as analgesics such as the opioids, non-opioids, some antidepressants, anxiolytics, anticonvulsants, muscle relaxants among others (Dewar 343). The targets receptors of the opioid analgesics mainly lie along the periaqueductal grey and substantia gelatinosa."

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