‘Pain’ to ‘suffering’: focusing on changes in toothache narratives in literature according to the development of anesthetics
10.11149/jkaoh.2026.50.1.15
- Author:
Seong O LEE
1
Author Information
1. Department of Social and Humanity in Dentistry, Wonkwang University School of Dentistry, Iksan, Korea
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health
2026;50(1):15-23
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Objectives:This study aims to analyze how the narrative representation of toothache in literary works has evolved in conjunction with the history of dental anesthetics development. By examining literary texts that reflect the discourse of their respective times, this study seeks to investigate the implications inherent in the shifting meaning of toothache.
Methods:The study categorized time periods based on the history of anesthetic development and analyzed passages describing toothache in approximately 30 literary works corresponding to each period. The concepts of ‘Embodiment’ and ‘Suffering’ were utilized as theoretical frameworks for the textual analysis.
Results:The analysis revealed that in pre-anesthesia literature, toothache was depicted as ‘Pain’itself—focusing on the unresolvable extremity of physical agony and the terror it invoked. However, with the advancement and widespread application of anesthetic technologies such as ether and lidocaine, the literary depiction of toothache shifted. It evolved from a mere physical sensation into a metaphor for ‘Suffering’, where social and personal repression or internal anxiety is embodied through the physical body.
Conclusions:The representation of toothache in literature has transitioned from biological ‘Pain’ to an embodiment of social suffering, paralleling advancements in dentistry. While dentists diagnose biological ‘Disease’, patients experience subjective ‘Illness.’ This study suggests that the indirect experience of toothache through literature enables dentists to gain a deeper understanding of the patient’s ‘embodied suffering’, thereby contributing to bridging the communication gap in clinical practice.
