Usefulness of the Short Form-8 (SF-8) for chronic pain in the orofacial region

Given that chronic pain has become a major problem in recent years, affecting approximately 30% of the general population, this study used the Short Form-8 (SF-8) Japanese version to investigate (1) the quality of life (QOL) of patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS) or persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP) (compared to a Japanese control group) and (2) whether the therapeutic intervention improves the QOL and reduced pain (comparison between 0 and 12 weeks) of patients with BMS or PIFP. A total of 63 patients diagnosed with either BMS (n = 45) or PIFP (n = 18) were included in this study. The diagnostic criteria for BMS and PIFP were established based on the 3rd edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. Our study results showed that while Physical Component Summary (PCS) in patients with BMS or PIFP improved with treatment, it did not improve to the national standard value (NSV) after 12 weeks of intervention. In contrast, Mental Component Summary (MCS) improved to the same level as NSV after 12 weeks of intervention. Therefore, we found that therapeutic intervention improves MCS and reduces pain; however, improving PCS takes time.