Pain in the region of the mouth and face (orofacial pain) has an estimated lifetime prevalence of 26%. Persistent symptoms reduce the quality of life, evoke stress, facilitate development of emotional disorders (anxiety, depression), and interfere with sleep. Conversely, emotional disorders and stress have negative effects on sleep and the experience of pain. Therefore, in patients experiencing orofacial pain, both biological and emotional aspects require comprehensive assessment.

The web-based interdisciplinary symptom evaluation (WISE) serves this purpose in the interdisciplinary pain unit at the UZH Center for Dental Medicine. WISE offers patients to report their complaints with free text and validated questionnaires. Our aim is to compare the content of free text with the scores of validated questionnaire to identify overlapping and complementary aspects that support personalized pain management.

The description of pain, emotionale status and related burdens all rely on narratives, often expressed in metaphoric language.