Oral Dysaesthesia and TMD Flashcards
What are phantom limbs?
Occur when amputees feel like their limbs are still present (if eyes were shut their limb would feel entirely real)
- Perception of limb presence remains even although it is gone
How do painful phantoms occur?
Lasting memory of pain from trauma can persist after amputation (very difficult to treat as it is an incorrect cognitive deduction)
- Difficult for patients to cope as they feel it to be real
How are painful phantoms treated?
Use mirror box, to let patient/brain accept visual signal that hand is working as normal
- If patient feels that hand is tightly clenched, let them see the reflection of their hand which appears like the amputated one is opening and closing normally (if done for long enough the patient can start to accept it cognitively- can override peripheral nerve signal as brain received information from visual centres)
- Gradually the pain can reduce
What is body dysmorphia?
Brain tells patient that they are overweight
- Can lead to anorexia as the patient stops eating (modifies behaviour to make internal view change)
- Patient would not resemble how they feel- overcomes mirrors or comments
What is an oral dysaesthesia?
Abnormal sensory perception in absence of abnormal stimulus
- Could be a somatoform disorder- perception is wrong (understanding of information coming from tissues is wrong)
- Neuropathic- dysfunction of nerves carrying info to CNS
- Anxiety can change the way that perception in the brain works (can cause confusion and mean that normal sensation is felt differently)
What are the symptoms of oral dysaesthesia?
- Burning
- Dysgeusia- Bad taste
- Numbness
- Tingling
- Dry mouth
*Frequently somatoform with no physical disease
What are the predisposing factors for oral dysaesthesia?
Deficiency
-> Haematinics, zinc, b12
Anxiety and stress
Fungal and viral infections
Gender- more common in females
What tests should we do if we think a patient is suffering an oral dysaesthesia?
- Check that medical problem is not treatable
- Do blood tests/swabs rinses and try anti-fungal/viral drugs
- Consider if patient is stressed or anxious- makes them predisposed to these somatoform dysaesthesias
How may patients with oral dysaesthesia use this as a sign of declining mental health?
Some patients may use somatoform symptoms as a way of realising that their anxiety or stress disorder is coming back
Can take steps to correct mental health
-> dysaesthesia can settle
What are the most likely causes of burning mouth syndrome?
Haematinic deficiency can affect oral mucosa and can result in change in perception (correcting deficiency can help sensation return to normal)
Parafunction and tongue thrust are more likely to get burning sensation affecting tongue tip/edges and lip
*people who do not present with parafunction often have pain in dorsum of tongue and vault of the palate- uncommon in parafunction
How is burning mouth related to parafunction managed?
Give lower acrylic splint to reduce damage to mucosa and symptoms
What is dyguesia?
Bad taste or halitosis (difficult to treat- clinicians may see no evidence of a reason for perception)
What are potential causes of non-somatoform dyguesia to check for in patients who present?
Perio
Dental infections
GORD
Chronic sinusitis
Pharyngeal pouches
How can dyguesia affect a patient’s mental health?
- Isolation as patient worried about other people’s reaction (can be linked to anxiety)
- Can be difficult to convince patients that they are normal physically (issue is with perception)
- Can be made worse if patient’s partner says patient has bad breath in morning (wrongly see something common as abnormal)
- Patients may become withdrawn if they feel you aren’t trying to fix their problem
What are the symptoms of touch dysaesthesia?
Feeling of pins and needles (like LA wearing off)
- Often overlaps with normal sensation too
- Can happen if there is a change in perception of sensory information going to the brain OR nerve lesions
