(TC51) Pain Catastrophizing and Resilience Scales: Potential Novel Strategies to Predict and Manage Pain in Endodontics

Abstract: Dental pain is commonly reported in patients, often causing patients to avoid seeing practitioners. It has been reported that 52% view root canal therapy as painful, and the frequency of persistent tooth pain after endodontic procedures is estimated to be 5.3–7% or greater. Pain catastrophizing is the phenomenon of exaggerated responses to pain and negatively assessing the ability to cope with pain. It is evaluated with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), which is a 13-item questionnaire measuring rumination about pain, pain magnification, and feeling helpless about pain. High levels of pain catastrophizing can have a profound impact on a patient's experience, often resulting in increased pain perception, persistent pain, and poorer oral health-related quality of life. Contrarily, resilience is the process of successful adaptation after adversity or severe stress, and research supports the protective role of resilience on emotional well-being, pain acceptance, and physical health. It can be measured with the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), which is a 6-item questionnaire that examines the ability to recover from stressful challenges. Studies show that a resilience-based hope intervention may be beneficial in reducing pain sensitivity and pain catastrophizing in patients with orofacial pain and may serve as a pain management technique. By administering these assessments as part of the initial patient intake process, clinicians can identify individuals at risk of experiencing heightened pain with endodontic procedures and consider using methods such as redirecting the patient’s attention from pain, improving communication, and/or resilience-based interventions to help reduce patient’s pain catastrophizing.