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Facial Pain Program

If you or someone you know suffers from facial pain, OHSU’s Facial Pain Program offers hope.  Over the past five years, the program has successfully treated more than 1,000 adults with the facial nerve disorder known as trigeminal neuralgia.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic condition that causes extreme face pain. Pain episodes can last for days, weeks or months at a time and then disappear for months or years. Even with short episodes, however, the intensity of the pain can be physically and mentally incapacitating.
 
Flashes of pain can be triggered by vibration or contact with the cheek, such as when shaving, applying makeup, brushing teeth, eating or talking. Trigeminal neuralgia occurs most often in people over age 50, but it can occur at any age. The presumed cause is a blood vessel pressing on the trigeminal nerve in the head. In some cases, trigeminal neuralgia may be associated with another disorder such as multiple sclerosis.

For more information:

Facial Pain Clinic

Trigeminal neuralgia