Pain in the dentoalveolar region is a common symptom. This usually involves acute pain, meaning the correct treatment can be rapidly applied. However, for certain types of persistent pain in this region, the aetiology is difficult to determine. Previously, there has been confusion regarding the diagnosis and classification of this type of persistent pain, which was often designated under different terms, such as atypical odontalgia, phantom pain or deafferentation pain. Recently, a classification system was developed for these types of conditions and the following term was agreed: persistent dentoalveolar pain. This new term was the first step in arriving at an improvement in the taxonomy: three criteria were established to lead to advancements in the fields of clinical research and treatment. Keywords: neuropathic pain, non-odontogenic pain