Subacute thyroiditis confused with dental problem

Subacute thyroiditis is an inflammatory disease of the thyroid gland, most probably preceded by viral infection. Common symptoms include fever, thyroid tenderness associated pain, and initial hyperthyroidism sometimes followed by a transient period of hypothyroidism with generally favourable outcomes as self-limited entity. It was known that it may be confused with pharyngitis; however search on Medline using key words (dental pain, subacute thyroiditis, and differential diagnosis) in combination recently produced no reports. Herein, we report a case of subacute thyroiditis associated pain, which was initially mistaken and treated as pain of dental origin after otorhinolaryngologic examination revealed no pathology. The aim of this communication is to remind that thyroiditis as part of differential diagnosis should be considered in patients with unexplained dental pain to avoid unnecessary diagnostic procedures, which increase expenses and may delay appropriate therapeutic measures.