Prevalence of Orofacial Pain and Treatment Seeking in Hong Kong Chinese

Aims: To estimate the prevalence and pattern of self-reported oro-facial pain symptoms and treatment-seeking behavior in adult Cantonese-speaking Chinese people in Hong Kong. Methods: A cross-sectional population survey involving a telephone survey technique was used to identify 1,222 randomly selected Cantonese-speaking people aged at least 18 years. Standard ques-tions were asked on the experience of 8 orofacial pain symptoms in the previous month and on treatment-seeking behavior. Results: Orofacial pain symptoms were reported by 41.6% of respondents when tooth sensitivity was included and by 24.2% when it was excluded. There was no gender- or age-related difference in pain prevalence (P > .010). Tooth sensitivity was the most common symptom (27.7%), followed by toothache (12.5%), and shooting pain in the face was the least common (1.1%). Almost half those with symptoms reported the pain as moderate to severe, and a fifth had frequent pain. Only 20.3% with pain symptoms sought professional treatment, and use of self-prescribed medication was very low (12.4%). Conclusion: Orofacial pain symptoms appear to affect more than a quarter of the adult population in Hong Kong, and prevalence estimates were consistent with those in Western countries. A substantial proportion of the pain symptoms were frequent and of moderate to severe intensity, with the poten-tial for significant morbidity. Professional treatment seeking was very low and may be related to specific pain behaviors and effec-tive coping strategies in this ethnic group.

epidemiology; orofacial; pain; prevalence; treatment seeking

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