Neuropathic and nociceptive components both contribute to pain. Different pain management strategies are required for each and so it is important to distinguish between them prior to instigating treatment. A simple, validated screening tool, to detect neuropathic pain in facial pain patients, was sought as a useful tool to aid diagnosis in clinical practice. 252 patients attending a secondary care facial pain clinic in London were asked to complete the PainDETECT questionnaire at their appointment in a prospective multicentre study. This was scored by clinicians and compared with a diagnosis made by the clinician which has taken as the gold standard in this study. A PainDETECT score of above 18 indicates neuropathic pain is likely and one below 12 indicates it is unlikely. The total questionnaire scores and the clinical diagnoses were statistically compared by SPSS® version 19 using Cohens kappa (k) which shows measurement of agreement.

Dr Saumya Bhatia Mahendra has completed her Masters in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery with distinction from University College London, London in 2013 and has since then worked with a dental chain 'Clove Dental' in New Delhi and Vivekanand Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow. She is currently running her own practice in Lucknow.