Facial Pain Management

What is facial pain?

Facial pain causes discomfort in your mouth, throat, teeth, gums, lips, tongue, or jaw. You might experience any of the following in your facial area:

• Aching or dull feeling
• Sharp or shooting pain
• Swelling
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Burning 
• Stiffness
• Decreased range of motion in your jaw
• Headaches
• Ringing in the ear

If your pain doesn’t go away on its own or causes debilitating pain, reach out to the Oral Medicine & Pathology Center team for an evaluation. They provide treatment for oral health issues that other dentists might not treat.

Dr. Sedghizadeh can consult with you and also provide an evaluation. Once he diagnoses your condition, he customizes an effective, personalized treatment plan to relieve your pain.

What causes facial pain?

Common causes of facial pain include:

• Gum disease
• Tooth decay
• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders 
• Jaw clenching
• Teeth grinding
• Injuries or trauma
• Arthritis
• Oral health diseases
• Infections
• Cancer

If the cause of your facial discomfort isn’t clear, Dr. Sedghizadeh offers cutting-edge technology to get to the root issue and can perform one or more procedures to treat it.

How is the cause of facial pain diagnosed?

To find the root cause of your discomfort and develop an effective treatment, Dr. Sedghizadeh starts with learning about your symptoms and medical history. He provides a comprehensive evaluation in and around your mouth and may recommend dental imaging for a more detailed look.

In some cases, he may need to perform hard or soft tissue biopsies depending on your symptoms and disease risk factors.

What are common treatments for facial pain?

Depending on the type and severity of your jaw discomfort, treatments might include one or more of the following:

• Wear a nightguard to reduce teeth grinding and jaw clenching
• Get dental treatments for issues like tooth decay and gum disease to eliminate problems
• Receive injections such as Botox®, corticosteroids, and trigger point injections to reduce muscle tension, swelling, and oral pain
• Take medication to reduce inflammation, muscle tension, or other underlying causes
• Consider surgery to correct the underlying cause of oral discomfort

In addition, you can take a proactive role with home remedies. Try using ice or heat packs, over-the-counter medication, and practicing good oral hygiene habits that include brushing at least twice a day and flossing daily.  You should also have routine professional teeth cleanings every six months.

Dr. Sedghizadeh also offers mobilization and myofascial stretching techniques to improve blood flow, relieve muscle tension, stretch targeted tissues, and help reduce oral pain.

To diagnose the cause of your facial pain and to get the relief you need, call the Oral Medicine & Pathology Center office or schedule an appointment online today.