A 47 years old female patient reported to the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology with a chief complaint of on and off pain in the upper front region of the jaw since 1.5 years. It was diagnosed as trigeminal neuralgia and differential diagnosis of Neuritis was given.
Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN), also called tic douloureux, is the most common of the cranial neuralgias and chiefly affects individuals older than 50 years of age. TN is classified as either classic TN when it is not associated with an underlying neurologic disease or symptomatic TN when no neurologic disorder can be detected. Its clinical features include episodes of intense shooting, stabbing pain on stimulation of “Trigger zones” that lasts for a few seconds and then completely disappears. The pain characteristically has an electric shock–like quality and is unilateral except in a small percentage of cases. The maxillary branch is most commonly affected than the mandibular branch and (rarely) the ophthalmic branch. Involvement of more than one branch occurs in some cases.
Anticonvulsant drugs like Carbamazepine is the most common drug used in its management.