[The trend to natural cure procedures--the psychosocial background]. / Der Trend zu naturheilkundlichen Verfahren--psychosozialer Hintergrund.

There is a present trend towards so-called alternative methods in medicine and dentistry, which is increasing despite the undeniable successes of established "scientific" medicine. The neglect of psychological and psychosomatic aspects of diseases by established medicine since the second half of the last century is identified as one of the major causes of this development.

[Psychogenic pain sensations in teeth, mouth and jaws]. / Psychogene Schmerzsensationen im Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferbereich.

Pain is always a subjective experience. Therefore the term "psychogenic pain sensation" seems to be a pleonasm at first sight. In fact, however, the dentist's attention should not only be focussed on the removal of the objective causes of pain, but the fact itself, i.e. the patient's subjectivity, must be considered, too. Unless this is done, the results are serious diagnostic and therapeutic errors.

[Failure of dental implants following psychosomatic disturbances in the stomatognathic system--a clinical-catamnestic study]. / Misserfolg zahnärztlicher Implantate bei psychosomatischen Störungen im stomatognathen System--eine klinisch-katamnestische Studie.

Nowadays dental implantations are highly successful if individual indications are taken into consideration. From our experiences with patients from the Research Institute for Psychopathology and Psychosomatics, we would like to point out a contraindication for the treatment of dental implants, which until now has been hardly considered. A special case report shows that psychosomatic problems and pains in the maxillofacial region can be the cause of failure of dental implants.

[Interdisciplinary investigations on the criticism of the term 'anesthesia dolorosa']. / Interdisziplinäre Untersuchungen zur Kritik am Begriff der Anaesthesia dolorosa.

3291 patients with facial pain and/or complaints in the orofacial region were examined from 1972-1988 by both the maxillofacial surgeon and the neurologist at the departments of maxillofacial surgery and psychosomatic medicine of the Zentrum für Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferkrankheiten of the University of Münster. Only 27 cases of genuine trigeminal neuralgia could be found in those 17 years. At the same time, however, 31 patients presented with anaesthesia dolorosa after various operations on the fifth cranial nerve. Referring to the criteria set up by Marxkors and Müller-Fahlbusch (1981) these findings were based on psychosomatic diseases. Thus, any indication for an operation on the trigeminal nerve should be very carefully reconsidered.