Trigeminal neuralgia is easily misdiagnosed.

“Luckily there was a doctor, otherwise, I would have had to pull out a few more teeth.” That is what a 22-year-old female patient (in Me Linh District, Hanoi ) shared with doctors at Phu Tho General Hospital, after being treated by doctors at this hospital for 6 months of facial pain.

Dr. Vi Truong Son performs high frequency pulsed wave ablation to treat a patient.

Photo: Phu Tho General Hospital

Before coming to Phu Tho General Hospital for treatment, the patient had facial pain and had been examined and treated in many places. Among them, the patient had a maxillofacial specialist examination and had 2 lower molars extracted because the pain was diagnosed as pulpitis. However, after the extraction of 2 teeth, the pain did not subside, and the patient even had to take 4 painkillers a day.

Upon arrival at Phu Tho General Hospital, the patient was examined, assigned to do paraclinical tests, and diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia. The patient was advised on the treatment of neuralgia with pulsed radiofrequency ablation. This is a high-tech treatment method, with a short hospital stay, helping to reduce pain in the treatment of neuralgia. After treatment, the patient's pain that had lasted for many months before was completely relieved.

Dr. Vi Truong Son, Head of the Department of Surgery, Phu Tho General Hospital, informed: The fifth cranial nerve is also known as the trigeminal nerve. This is a cranial nerve that is responsible for motor and sensory functions, composed of three nerve branches V1, V2, V3. Each branch has a sensory role for each part of the face. The fifth cranial nerve pain often starts suddenly, lasting for a short time, only a few seconds. However, there are also many consecutive pain attacks, causing the patient to have pain lasting from one to several minutes. The disease can recur, without any pattern. The pain attacks can appear at any time, even when there are mild stimuli such as: chewing, washing the face, touching the face, shaving, wind blowing on the face..., seriously affecting the patient's quality of life.

Doctor Vi Truong Son also noted that trigeminal neuralgia is easily misdiagnosed as other dental and maxillofacial problems, thereby affecting treatment results.

In practice, a doctor from the Department of Neurosurgery, Neurology Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the department once received a 58-year-old male patient who could not chew, could only eat soft foods, and drank porridge for nearly 4 years due to pain in the 5th cranial nerve. The patient suffered from pain like electric shocks on one side of his face. After treatment, the patient recovered and the pain was gone.

According to this doctor, the fifth nerve is the largest of the 12 cranial nerves. Trigeminal neuralgia often causes pain in the affected area of the body, often in half of the face. Some people have toothaches, and only after tooth extraction do they find out that the cause of the pain is trigeminal neuralgia.

The pain often recurs, greatly affecting the patient's quality of life. Therefore, when symptoms such as jaw pain, toothache, pain on one side of the face appear, the patient should see a doctor early so that the doctor can determine the cause and provide the best treatment method.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dau-day-than-kinh-so-5-de-bi-chan-doan-nham-185240911192104146.htm