Chronic pain is a widespread condition, affecting a substantial part of the general population. It has an immense impact on sufferers' physical and psychosocial well-being. Still, it is often underestimated in dental offices. Particularly when it comes to complex prosthetic rehabilitation, patients suffering from chronic pain conditions often have unrealistic expectations toward the treatment outcome. Unaware of patients' previous experiences and beliefs, the dentist cannot properly address them. Unmet expectations inevitably lead to disappointment on both patient's and dentist's sides.

On the other hand, chronic pain may emerge from standard dental interventions in otherwise healthy individuals. Multi-stage, extended prosthetic treatment plans, including surgical as well as endodontic interventions, bear an increased risk of patients developing neuropathic pain. If this is the case, the condition needs to be diagnosed as soon as possible to avoid further iatrogenic injuries and provide the patient with proper therapy. Unfortunately, it often takes years and multiple unnecessary procedures before the cause of the persisting pain is revealed. Essentially, if not recognized early in the treatment process, chronic pain may jeopardize the success of the complete dental rehabilitation.

The goal of this lecture is to critically discuss the role chronic pain may play during prosthetic rehabilitation based on current evidence as well as real-life examples from clinical practice.

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