title: Comparison of two patients with similar facial pain complaints of dental and non-dental etiologies.
abstract: The medical and lay communities have become more aware of the role of dentistry in the diagnosis and management of facial pain disorders. In some cases, the patient or physician may presume that a facial pain complaint is of odontogenic origin and seek the opinion of a dental practitioner. While the majority of facial pain complaints may be due to dental pathologies, some may also be due to non-dental causes. The diagnostic acumen of the dentist must include a basic understanding of non-dental causes for facial pain as well as those related to dentistry. The following case reports may serve to underscore this observation.
authors.affiliation: Center for Temporomandibular Disorders and Orofacial Pain Management, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark 07103, USA.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Heir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003788:Dental Pulp Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D005930:Glossopharyngeal Nerve; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis