Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery : official journal of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. · Nov 2011
Explaining pain after lower third molar extraction by preoperative pain assessment.
To evaluate whether preoperative pain sensitivity testing and emotional perception of pain could explain the level of postoperative pain after lower third molar extraction. ⋯ These results show that a simple preoperative test is useful to identify patients at risk of developing greater pain after third molar surgery. They are characterized by a higher level of reported pain or unpleasantness after exposure to a nociceptive stimulus. This test may be tailored to specific patient needs for postoperative treatment.