Diagnosis and Management of a Patient who Complained of Pain to Cold Following a Recent Visit to a Dental Practice: A Clinical Scenario

Abstract

The scenario in this paper discusses the diagnosis and management of a patient who complained of pain to cold following a recent visit to a dental practice. The symptoms were localised to one-two teeth in the lower jaw (mandible). On examination, the teeth in question exhibited gingival recession on the buccal (facial) aspects with no obvious signs of dental caries. The gingival tissues were healthy with no periodontal pocketing and the teeth in question were not mobile. Following the application of cold air from a dental triple syringe on to the exposed dentine surface, the patient indicated that they had experienced some discomfort which was sharp but eased somewhat once the air blast was removed. When asked to rate the level of discomfort, the patient indicated that it scored 5 on a visual analogue scale (VAS). The question that will be addressed in this paper is what steps the clinician should take in successfully diagnosis the problem and resolving the patient’s complaint.