What is atypical facial pain?
Atypical facial pain is when all or part of your face hurts for no apparent medical reason. The pain occurs every day and lasts for weeks or months. Another name for this condition is persistent idiopathic facial pain. When this type of pain affects your teeth but doesn’t have a dental cause, it’s known as atypical odontalgia or persistent idiopathic dentoalveolar pain. Chronic pain conditions can be challenging, but treatment with medicines and therapies can help lessen your pain or help you become pain-free.
Penn Medicine’s specialists thoroughly evaluate your facial pain to determine if there’s an underlying cause so that you get the treatment you need. If you’re diagnosed with atypical facial pain, our specialists will work with you to create an individualized treatment plan that can relieve your symptoms and help you get back to living without pain.
Symptoms of atypical facial pain
Atypical facial pain can make any part of your face ache or throb. Facial soreness may spread over your whole face or stay in a small area. Pain might also be on one side near your jaw or ear. If an aching face includes the cheekbone or jaw, it might feel like facial bone pain.
Symptoms of atypical facial pain may include:
- A deep, persistent pain that feels like burning, pounding, throbbing, or a dull aching with an occasional stabbing feeling
- A pins-and-needles feeling
- Pain in the jaw, teeth, cheek, or ear
- Pain that’s triggered by heat, cold, or touch
- Pain that gets worse when you’re tired or under stress
What causes atypical facial pain?
Doctors don’t know what causes atypical facial pain. It might be related to a problem with the central nervous system or chemicals in the brain that affect your mood and pain sensations. Atypical facial pain isn’t the same as trigeminal neuralgia, a condition that causes electrical shock-like feelings on one side of the face.
Atypical facial pain is more common in women in their 40s and 50s. It’s also more likely to occur in people who have had certain procedures or have health conditions, including:
- Dental injuries or dental procedures like a tooth extraction or a root canal
- Depression and anxiety
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Chronic pain in another part of your body with no clear cause
How is atypical facial pain diagnosed?
Doctors diagnose atypical facial pain if the discomfort is constant and has lasted for three months or longer, and if tests didn’t find an underlying cause of the pain.
Symptoms of atypical facial pain are similar to the symptoms of other conditions that can cause face pain, so your doctor will rule out other probable causes before diagnosing you with this condition. You might need to be checked for dental cavities or infections, sinusitis, headaches, bone fractures, blood vessel disorders, nerve problems, temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ), or other potential causes of your pain. You may also be screened for mood disorders like depression and anxiety because they can make pain worse.
It’s important to get an accurate diagnosis so that you receive the most appropriate treatment. During an evaluation for facial pain, your doctor will do a physical exam and go over your health history and symptoms. You’re also likely to need tests.
Atypical facial pain treatment at Penn Medicine
Cognitive therapy, antidepressant or anti-convulsant medication, Botox injections, or a combination of treatments can help relieve the symptoms of atypical facial pain, although it may take time to find the most effective therapies for you. Non-traditional therapies like meditation and relaxation techniques may also help ease your symptoms. Some people become completely free of atypical facial pain with treatment.