Facial pain

Pain in the face may be due to a variety of causes, of which injury is the most obvious. Facial pain is also commonly due to infection, particularly in sinusitis and mumps. Problems with the teeth and jaws are another common cause of facial pain. They include severe caries (see caries, dental), an abscess (see abscess, dental), impacted wisdom teeth (see impaction, dental), or partial dislocation of the jaw (see jaw, dislocated). Damage to a nerve that supplies the face can produce severe pain, including the knife-like pain that precedes the one-sided rash in herpes zoster and the intermittent shooting pain of trigeminal neuralgia. A disorder elsewhere in the body may result in referred pain in the face. For example, in angina, pain may be felt in the jaw. In migraine, pain may occur on one side of the face. Facial pain that occurs for no apparent reason may be a symptom of depression. Analgesic drugs can provide temporary relief, but severe or persistent facial pain requires medical attention.