Toothache of nonodontogenic origin: a case report

This article describes the diagnosis and treatment of a patient exhibiting nonodontogenic tooth pain. A 25-yr-old female patient presented to postgraduate endodontics, SUNY at Stony Brook, for evaluation and treatment of pain associated with the upper and lower left quadrants. After thorough intraoral and extraoral examinations, it was determined that the pain was referred to the dentition from a trigger point in the masseter muscle. An extraoral injection of 3% Carbocaine was administered into the trigger point, and the pain abated within 5 min. The patient has experienced no recurrence of this pain for 12 months. Consideration of nonodontogenic dental pain should be included in a differential diagnosis.