Symptoms of inflammation of the trigeminal nerve

• Causes of jaw inflammation
• What to do if the lower jaw is inflamed
• Diagnosis and treatment of jaw inflammation at the dentist
• Features of treatment for older patients

Inflammatory diseases are very common and are presented in all their diversity, from clinical manifestations to localization. Differential diagnosis is not always easy, especially if there are no specific signs. Often a dentist finds himself in this situation when a patient comes to him with inflammation under the jaw on the neck. In this case, it is very important to make a correct diagnosis and prescribe effective treatment.

What is the trigeminal nerve

The human face has many muscles and nerve endings. Not only the mucous membranes of the nose, pharynx, and conjunctiva, but also the nerve endings can become inflamed. This is most often associated with neurological disorders that change the sensitivity of the fibers that conduct impulses.

With neuropathy of the facial area, acute shooting pain occurs on the right or left. Mirror inflammation of the trigeminal nerve is extremely rare. It is located in the temporal region, near the base of the auricle. And from it there are branches along the entire half of the face:

• jaw nerve (upper and lower);
• optic nerve;
• infraorbital nerve.

The trigeminal nerve passes through the bone tissue in several places, which plays an important role in the occurrence of inflammation associated with pinching. Thus, inflammation of the trigeminal nerve can result in acute pain both in the upper and lower jaw, and in the forehead area, covering the eye sockets.

Causes of jaw inflammation

The lower jaw and the area under it have a rather complex anatomical structure. Muscles, lymphatic and blood vessels, bone structures, etc. are concentrated in this zone. Also, the temporomandibular joint or other anatomical zones may be involved in the inflammatory process, from which the lesion spreads to the neck area. Common causes of inflammation of the jaw are:

• Tooth root cyst.
• Osteitis.
• Inflammation of the lymph nodes.
• Tumors of blood vessels and soft tissues of the neck.
• Traumatic injuries.
• Inflammation of the middle ear.
• Gingivitis, periodontitis, periodontal disease, etc.

Given such a variety of causes, the approach to diagnosis and treatment must be individualized. Due to his ignorance, the patient may choose the wrong doctor and waste his time. In situations where something is inflamed under the jaw on the right or left and at the same time a tooth or temporomandibular joint hurts, you need to consult a dentist. If the pain is localized in the ear area, then you need to visit an ENT specialist.

Causes of inflammation of the trigeminal nerve

There are several reasons leading to inflammation of the nerve ducts:

• Poor blood supply associated with physical compression of the nerve. First of all, this is swelling caused by diseases of the ENT organs. The resulting tumor can also pinch the nerves.
• Inflammation associated with dentistry. This includes gingivitis, periodontitis, caries, pulpitis, and eruption of wisdom teeth. Each of these diseases can lead to suppuration, abscesses, swelling and bacterial infections of tissues.
• Medical error by an anesthesiologist - if the injection was given unsuccessfully and the needle got into a nerve, pain cannot be avoided.
• Hypothermia causes muscles to lose their elasticity, which leads to pinching of the nerves passing between the fibers.
• Bacterial infections, in particular tetanus and polio.
• The cause of inflammation of the trigeminal nerve, which is difficult to diagnose, is the psychological state of a person - frequent experiences, stress, and nervous disorders.

To determine the cause of inflammation, you need to consult a specialist.

Causes of temporomandibular joint arthritis

Arthritis does not show pronounced symptoms immediately; its development can be asymptomatic for a long time or with minor pain. Out of habit, a person reacts to pain by taking painkillers, which only makes the situation worse. Anesthetics relieve symptoms, but do not remove the cause. The disease “takes over” more and more healthy tissue and, as a result, instead of treatment, the patient receives disability. Let's figure out why TMJ arthritis can develop.

1. 1. Mechanical injury. Impact, the habit of clenching teeth tightly, and active chewing of hard food can lead to damage to one or more components of the joint. Articular tissues respond to damage with pain and dilation of blood vessels. Simply put, blood enters from the vessels directly into the tissue, causing swelling, inflammation, and, if treatment is delayed, suppuration.
2. 2. Infection. The inflammatory process develops as a result of pathogenic microorganisms entering the joint through the blood or through direct and contact routes. The direct route of infection involves inflammation of the TMJ as a result of an open wound (knife or gunshot wound). If microorganisms have penetrated into the cartilage from infected muscle or bone tissues, then the pathology of transmission is called contact. All diseases of the oral cavity (as well as ear, nose and throat) can lead to arthritis of the temporomandibular joint through the hematogenous route, through the blood.
3. 3. Systemic inflammation. Some pathologies of an inflammatory nature (herpes, hepatitis, mycoplasmosis, chlamydia, lupus), if not treated in a timely manner, affect connective tissue throughout the body.

Treatment methods

Depending on what caused the inflammation, a course of treatment is prescribed. For bacterial lesions, the emphasis is on antibacterial therapy through systemic administration of drugs.

However, regardless of the reasons, the doctor prescribes painkillers to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. It could be:

• ibuprofen;
• paracetamol;
• analgin;
• ketorol;
• diclofenac.

All of the listed drugs can be prescribed either in the form of tablets for oral administration, or prescribed in the form of solutions for intramuscular administration.

When conservative methods are not possible, the help of a surgeon may be needed. This primarily concerns abscesses due to the eruption of wisdom teeth, pulpitis or other dental diseases. In this case, the abscess will be opened, pus will be removed, the wound will be treated with antiseptic, and the tooth will be removed, if necessary. If a pinched nerve occurs as a result of pathologies in the structure of the skull, the surgeon will perform an operation to correct the situation and free the nerve bundles.

As a complex therapy, massage, heating or exposure to a magnetic field and electric current can be prescribed. You cannot massage or warm the inflamed area yourself, because this can lead to complications associated with rupture of the purulent capsule, blood poisoning and paralysis of the facial nerve.

Separately, you may need to consult a neurologist who will determine the cause of the inflammation if other specialists have not found obvious foci of infection and abscesses.

Traditional methods of treatment are permissible only as an addition to the main therapy. For example, rinsing with chamomile decoction will relieve inflammation and reduce swelling. But you can resort to such procedures only with the permission of the attending physician.

Symptoms of trigeminal neuritis

The maxillary trigeminal nerve consists of three types of nerve fibers:

• vegetative;
• motor;
• sensitive.

The symptomatic picture of neuritis may vary depending on which fibers were affected by the inflammatory process.

Damage to sensory fibers

In particular, with inflammation of the sensory fibers, the patient may complain of a tingling sensation, numbness, and weakened sensitivity in the area innervated by the trigeminal nerve.

Damage to motor fibers

When motor fibers are damaged, there is a partial or complete decrease in strength in the innervated muscles, their atrophy and deterioration of tendon reflexes.

Damage to vegetative fibers

When the vegetative fibers are inflamed, the patient experiences cyanosis and swelling of the skin, dryness and thinning of the skin, and the potential risk of developing a trophic ulcer increases.

Possible complications

Doctors call facial paralysis the first complication that appears in the absence of adequate treatment. This means that a person who does not receive medical care in a timely manner is deprived of the opportunity to express his emotions through facial expressions on one side of his face. This condition can no longer be corrected, which will certainly affect the quality of life. Distortion of facial expressions will lead to the development of depression and constant dissatisfaction with one’s appearance. Not every patient can come to terms with irreversible changes in their appearance without deep distress.

One of the most unpleasant manifestations of paralysis is the inability to close the eyelids on the injured side of the face. In this case, the eye will have to be regularly instilled with artificial tears to prevent the cornea from drying out, since natural hydration through blinking becomes unavailable for this eye.

Facial neuritis - symptoms and treatment

Neuritis (neuropathy) is a disease of the nervous system, manifested in dysfunction of a nerve or a certain group of nerves.

In recent years, the Greek word “pathos”, which means “suffering”, has been used to denote syndromes of damage to the peripheral nervous system, and previously used terms, for example, “neuritis”, have been replaced by “neuropathy”, “sciatica” by “radiculopathy”, etc. d. If several nerves are inflamed, then it is polyneuropathy, if one nerve is inflamed, then it is mononeuritis. When the cause of inflammation of the nerves is, for example, diabetes, we talk about diabetic polyneuropathy, [1] and if there is an infection, then about infectious polyneuropathy (for example, herpes, diphtheria, etc.); [2] if the factor is hereditary, then it is hereditary polyneuropathy; if associated with a nutritional disorder, for example, alcohol abuse, then alcoholic polyneuropathy; if polyneuropathy appears against the background of reduced immunity, then it is idiopathic polyneuropathy, etc. [3]

Many types of peripheral neuropathy are often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, malnutrition, injury and nerve compression, and also occur as a result of certain medications, such as those used to treat cancer and HIV/AIDS. [4]

As an example, consider such a common type of neuritis as neuritis of the facial nerve, also called Bell's palsy, the incidence of which is 23 people per 100 thousand, in all age groups, regardless of gender. The average age of patients is 40 years.

Most often, facial paralysis occurs as a result of local hypothermia. The source of infection is often chronic processes in the mouth, throat, and ear. In acute otitis media, nerve damage is caused by perineural edema of vascular origin. But more often, facial paralysis is caused by the herpes zoster virus in the area of ​​the external auditory canal and eardrum. [5]

Facial neuritis develops as a result of:

• tumor processes in the cerebellopontine angle and posterior cranial fossa, temporal bone, parotid gland;
• traumatic brain injuries;
• acute, chronic otitis, mastoiditis;
• infections - syphilis, tuberculosis, Lyme disease, HIV infections, malaria, diphtheria, typhus, etc.;
• sarcoidosis, collagenosis, amyloidosis;
• Guillain–Barré syndrome;
• multiple sclerosis and many other diseases.
• Sometimes the development of neuropathy of the facial nerve is observed during pregnancy against the background of nephropathy.[6]

Prevention of inflammation

To prevent the risk of developing inflammation of the trigeminal nerve, it is recommended to follow a number of measures:

• monitor oral hygiene and consult a dentist in a timely manner;
• do not stay in the cold for a long time or protect your face from freezing with a scarf;
• do not self-medicate otitis media.

At the first manifestations of pain on the face, you should immediately consult a doctor. This will stop the development of inflammation. In addition, early diagnosis allows for conservative treatment methods.

Diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia

A preliminary diagnosis can be made by a neurologist based on the patient’s complaints, studying the history of his disease and an objective examination of the face with an assessment of symmetry at rest and when trying to smile. Also, during the consultation, the doctor may conduct additional tests, asking the patient to close his eyes, purse his lips, frown, etc.

Laboratory and instrumental diagnostics of trigeminal neuralgia include the following examinations:

• general blood and urine tests;
• computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI);
• radiography of the paranasal sinuses;
• panoramic radiography of the oral cavity;
• electroneuromyography to determine the localization of inflammation.