The Long-Term Psychological Sequelae of Orofacial Injury

Significant subsets of patients who experience orofacial injury are at risk for developing adverse psychological sequelae such as posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. If undetected and untreated, the psychopathology can become recalcitrant and burden the social and vocational functioning of the patients and greatly diminish their quality of life. The hospital encounter and follow-up care visits provide the oral and maxillofacial surgeon with opportunities to screen for emerging psychological problems. Several screening instruments are available to assist the surgeon in identifying individuals who are at risk for subsequent mental health problems. Facilitated referrals to mental health services can be a practical approach for improving comprehensive medical care for vulnerable individuals and for reducing the potential morbidity of these covert, but disabling, sequelae.