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From September 1981 to February 1982, an epidemiologic study was carried out on the incidence of pain conditions among patients between 18 and 70 yr of age in 30 dental practices in Ribe County, Denmark. A total of 35 464 patients consulted the 50 participating dentists during the study period. 823 patients consulted the dentist due to pain. The most frequent cause of pain was caries sequelae (pulpitis (35%) and acute apical periodontitis (31%)). There was a significant difference in the distribution of the diagnoses between patients with regular and non-regular dental care. Although the data in the present study may not be representative for the entire Danish population, it seems reasonable to assume that in Denmark there are at least 70 000 annual consultations to a dentist due to pain. Furthermore, a minimum of 4000 patients can be expected to be absent from work annually, due to illness caused by dental pain.