Medication use in a female orofacial pain population

ObjectiveThis study compared, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the self-reported medication usage between an adult female orofacial pain population and a comparison group.Study designEighty-seven subjects from both an orofacial pain center (OPC) and undergraduate dental clinic (UDC) completed a standardized medical history questionnaire. Both groups had a similar distribution with regard to age. The number of medications and medication categories were compared between the two groups. Statistical analysis used the Student t-test, Fisher’s exact tests, Pearson’s χ2 tests, and calculated odds ratios.ResultsThe number of pain and non-pain medications, and the number of medication categories endorsed by OPC subjects was significantly higher compared with the UDC group.ConclusionAdult female orofacial pain subjects report greater overall and higher rate of medication use, which was not limited to only the analgesic/narcotic categories, than the comparison group.