Bridging the Mind-Mouth Divide: Neuroscience's Essential Role in Dental Psychosomatic Education.

Abstract

This paper underscores the crucial integration of neuroscience education into advanced dental education programs. While conditions with psychosomatic features are recognized to have biopsychosocial underpinnings, a deeper neuroscientific foundation is often lacking in current training, potentially hindering comprehensive patient care for complex conditions like atypical facial pain or burning mouth syndrome. Current international training exhibits varying levels of consistency and often faces barriers such as curriculum gaps and insufficient faculty expertise. By adopting a clinically integrated, case-based neuroscience curriculum, dental trainees can gain a more precise understanding of pain perception, emotional regulation, and stress response. This enhanced knowledge is vital for developing rational drug therapies, clarifying the pathology of these conditions, leading to more targeted treatments, reduced stigma, and improved patient outcomes. This educational shift will strengthen care for patients with psychosomatic conditions as an evidence-based field.