Diagnosis and Treatment of Face Pain: A Brief Guide

Abstract

Face pain is relatively common and is often thought to be caused by trigeminal neuralgia, while it rarely is. The most common cause is muscular, related to the muscles of mastication in the context of a condition referred to as myofascial temporomandibular disorder (TMD). However, other causes of face pain are possible as well and range in spectrum from continuous neuropathic face pain, sometimes with superimposed stabbing, referred to as painful trigeminal neuropathy, to non-neuropathic or nociceptive stabbing face pain, sinus vacuum, and intranasal contact. A diagnostic approach to these conditions is presented along with a brief description of the treatment options. A face-pain condition not covered here is persistent idiopathic face pain, which used to be referred to as atypical face pain, because the author considers it a non-diagnosis.