Times are displayed in (UTC+07:00) Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta Change

The Global Challenge of Orofacial Pain

SIG Name: Orofacial and Head Pain

Description of Symposium: Orofacial pain (OFP) is a prevalent and disabling condition worldwide, yet it remains insufficiently recognized within public health and pain medicine agendas. This symposium will explore the global burden of OFP, with a particular focus on how social, cultural, and healthcare system factors affect access to care, diagnostic accuracy, and treatment options. Presenters will share recent epidemiological data, novel scientific advances, and innovative models of interprofessional education frameworks designed to bridge current gaps in OFP care and education.

A central theme will be the urgent need for interdisciplinary education, integrated care pathways, and international collaboration to address diagnostic uncertainty, fragmented management, and the persistent stigma surrounding OFP. The symposium will also examine strategies to prevent the transition from acute to chronic pain, which is often overlooked in current care models.

To promote a comprehensive and inclusive discussion, the session will feature a diverse panel of speakers, including individuals with lived experience, clinician-scientists, educators, and epidemiologists. Ultimately, this symposium aims to catalyze a coordinated global response to OFP, foster cross-disciplinary research and policy initiatives, and contribute to the International Association for the Study of Pain’s mission to advance pain education, research, and patient-centered care.

Intended Audience: Clinical Practice, Cross-disciplinary, Clinical Research, Education

Educational Objectives:

Upon completion of this symposium, attendees will be able to interpret global epidemiological data on orofacial pain, including prevalence trends, population-level burden, and surveillance gaps
Upon completion of this symposium, attendees will be able to analyze how psychosocial, cultural, and structural determinants contribute to the transition from acute to chronic orofacial pain, and understand their implications for early identification, intervention, and equitable care
Upon completion of this symposium, attendees will be able to identify and explore strategies to better integrate orofacial pain care and education within broader health systems

Speakers

Adriana van Ineveld TMJ Association
Canada

Adriana van Ineveld is a patient advocate with the TMJ Association, drawing on more than four decades of lived experience with chronic orofacial pain. Motivated to help transform that experience into meaningful change, she works to ensure that the patient perspective is integrated into research, education, and care.
She has been an active participant in the Patient-Led RoundTable since 2016, a patient-centered public-private collaboration involving federal agencies, researchers, clinicians, industry, and advocates. This work has contributed to the development of multiple working groups focused on advancing the needs of patients, particularly those with implants.
Adriana contributed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Consensus Study on temporomandibular disorders and remains involved in ongoing initiatives stemming from that report. She is also engaged with TMJ IMPACT (Improving Patient-Centered Translational Research), where patient engagement is a central priority.
In addition to her advocacy work, Adriana founded TMJ Canada, a private patient support community, and helps moderate The TMJ Café on the Inspire platform.
Through all of her work, she brings forward the lived experience of patients navigating a complex, often misunderstood condition, with the goal of improving understanding, care, and outcomes.

Rachael Bosma University of Toronto
Canada

Dr. Rachael Bosma is Director of the University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Research Lead for the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute at Women’s College Hospital, and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto. A pain scientist by training, her research spans chronic and orofacial pain, patient-oriented research, and implementation science. She leads interprofessional pain education initiatives at the University of Toronto, including a curriculum that brings together more than 1,200 prelicensure health-professions students each year. Her work focuses on strengthening how pain is understood, taught, and translated into clinical practice.

Ana Velly McGill University
Canada

I am an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University, Director of Research in the Department of Dentistry at the Jewish General Hospital, a researcher at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, and Director of the Network for Canadian Oral Health Research (NCOHR). My career integrates academic research, institutional and national leadership, and international collaboration, with a longstanding commitment to advancing pain research and strengthening oral health research capacity across Canada.

I have held several leadership positions within major Canadian and international research organizations. I previously served as Director of the NIH/NIDCR Temporomandibular Joint Implant Registry and Repository, President of the Neuroscience Group of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research, and Councillor-at-Large of the Canadian Association for Dental Research. I currently co-chair NCOHR’s Orofacial Pain Working Group, where I contribute to the development of national research priorities, collaborations, and initiatives in orofacial pain.

My interdisciplinary training provides a strong foundation for my research program. I earned a DDS in Brazil, an MSc in Neurological Sciences, and a PhD in Public Health with a specialization in Epidemiology from the Université de Montréal. I subsequently completed postdoctoral training in the Randomized Clinical Trials Unit within McGill University’s Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health.

My research focuses on pain epidemiology, biomarkers, and the biological, clinical, and psychosocial factors associated with the transition from acute to chronic pain and the persistence of pain. I also lead and collaborate on randomized clinical trials evaluating pain-management interventions and on epidemiological studies examining the health consequences of opioid exposure, including the risks of pneumonia and cancer.

My research program is multidisciplinary, collaborative, and international, bringing together clinicians, epidemiologists, basic scientists, trainees, and patient partners. Through these collaborations, I aim to generate clinically meaningful evidence, improve pain prevention and management, and support the development of the next generation of oral health and pain researchers.

View More Speakers...