Facial Pain Q&A

Facial pain or can be a painful, chronic condition involving the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve carries sensations from your face to brain and can cause even mild stimulation to your face pain. Simple tasks such as brushing teeth, washing the face on putting on face lotion can trigger excruciating pain.

What is facial pain?

Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain. There are two separate trigeminal nerves, one on each side of the face. These nerves are responsible for carrying the sensation of pain and other sensations from the face to the brain. Facial pain causes intense pain in part or all of the face. If you have trigeminal neuralgia, even mild stimulation of your face — such as from brushing your teeth or putting on makeup — may trigger a jolt of excruciating pain.

What causes facial pain?

The cause of facial pain or trigeminal nerve pain can be a mystery. However, common contributors include a swollen blood vessel or tumor that puts pressure on the nerve or multiple sclerosis, a condition that affects the nerve.

What treatment options are available for facial pain?

Treatments for facial pain or trigeminal neuralgia starts with a medical review at Racz Pain Centers. Our patient treatment options include physical therapy and medication management. If the pain does not go away, trigeminal nerve blocks, radiofrequency neurotomy of the trigeminal nerve, peripheral nerve stimulation, or other surgical procedure can be performed are explored together with Dr. Racz and the patient.