Occipital Neuralgia & Tooth Pain: Understanding the Connection

Although Occipital Neuralgia is uncommon, it can be painful. It is often misdiagnosed because a person may feel pain in her teeth and appear to need dental work when the root cause is neuropathic.

Features

• A person with Occipital Neuralgia may feel a throbbing pain or ache on one side of his face, similar to a toothache.

Causes

• Some causes of Occipital Neuralgia tooth pain are previous trauma, arthritis or a tumor pressing on the occipital nerve. To find the underlying cause, a doctor may conduct a medical exam, review the patient̵7;s history and consider the symptoms and pain location.

Treatments

• Anti-seizure medications or tricyclic antidepressants may help suppress pain in the teeth, especially if it is sharp. If the pain is dull, a topical pain reliever may be used, or in some cases, surgery may be needed.

Prevention/Solution

• The Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK recommends avoiding extreme food and drink temperatures and food that is hard or crunchy to help decrease attacks. Rinse the mouth out after meals as well.

Considerations

• Occipital Trigeminal Neuralgia tooth pain is often the first symptom of Multiple Sclerosis, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.