J Oral Med Pain.  2022 Sep;47(3):144-147. 10.14476/jomp.2022.47.3.144.

Maxillary Sinusitis Resembling Trigeminal Neuralgia

• Ahn HJ
• Hong YR
• Kim S
• Kim BE
• Park Y
• Kwon JS
• Kim ST
• Choi JH

• KMID: 2552190
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14476/jomp.2022.47.3.144

Abstract

Chronic maxillary sinusitis is a common disease, with symptoms of dull, aching pain or pressure below the eyes and signs such as tenderness over the involved sinus, whereas trigeminal neuralgia is described as severe, paroxysmal, and lancinating brief pain limited in distributions of one or more divisions of trigeminal nerve. In cases where these two non-odontogenic toothache symptoms overlaps, the diagnostic process can be confusing. Here, we report a case of a 54-year-old male patient with chief complaints of intermittent, severe, and electric-like pain in the upper left premolar and first molar area, initially diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia but finally with maxillary sinusitis after pain recurrence 2 years after that. Therefore, thorough history taking and precise imaging interpretation should be considered to make correct diagnose especially in case of a patient with newly developed or altered or atypical symptoms.

Keyword

Facial pain; Maxillary sinusitis; Toothache; Trigeminal neuralgia