Facial pain includes aches in the face, head, mouth, and eye areas. The most common facial pain is from headaches or injuries although it is sometimes attributed to a more severe medical condition. If you are experiencing facial pain, here is critical advice on when to contact a doctor.
Facial Pain Causes
The most common reasons a person will experience facial pain include:
- Abscesses
- Atypical Facial Pain
- Dental Pain
- Facial Injuries
- Gum Infections
- Headaches
- Herpes Zoster
- Migraines
- Nerve Inflammation
- Nerve Injury
- Sinusitis Or Infections
- Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Dysfunction
- Toothaches
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Ulcers
People who experience facial pain often define symptoms as stabbing, aching, and cramping pain in the face, mouth, ears, and head that either emits pain in one location or moves about the face.
Facial Pain Types:
- The facial pain symptoms you experience will help doctors determine the root cause. A dull ache in a defined area often leads to oral health or eye issues. You most likely know that you require a dentist or eye doctor rather than a medical provider.
- People who suffer from sinus pain feel extreme pressure and aches beginning under the eyes and radiating to the middle part of the face and cheekbones.
- Headaches, depending on pain level, will cause throbbing, aching, and stabbing pain.
- If you suffer from ulcers and abscesses, you most likely will feel a painful throbbing.
Patients who seek medical intervention for facial pain describe the pain level as unbearable or unable to self-diagnose the underlying cause. Patients often also seek emergency care when their facial pain suddenly begins or moves to the left arm or chest as with the onset of a heart attack.
How Does Maryland Pain & Wellness Diagnose Facial Pain?
Documenting your symptoms and relaying them to a medical professional is crucial to receiving a proper diagnosis. When reporting facial pain, be sure to report all of your symptoms, where the pain is, how often you experience it, the type of pain you feel, and how long you feel the pain after its onset. You also need to report to the doctor any self-medicating practices you take when pain occurs (such as Tylenol, prescription pain medication, heating pads, or meditation).
Your symptoms help doctors determine possible causes which often determine the type of testing needed. Doctors will order tests such as MRIs or X-rays to understand the cause of your facial pain better. Imaging is a useful tool as it properly diagnoses problems with your sinuses, nerves, muscles, tissue, or bones. Doctors will also often order blood tests if infections are possible. Once the testing is complete, a medical professional will determine a proper treatment plan.
Facial pain is treatable once a doctor diagnoses the cause. The use of antibiotics, dental care, or eye care for facial pain is short-term. For chronic conditions, a long-term plan for facial pain management will also be necessary based on persistence which will include over-the-counter and prescription medications based on the severity of headaches or facial pain. To find out more about facial pain, contact our office via the online contact form or by phone for an appointment.
