Subacute thyroiditis as a cause of facial pain

Subacute thyroiditis is an inflammatory condition of the thyroid gland in which pain may be referred to the jaws. The clinical features of the condition are outlined and emphasized through an illustrative case report. Clinicians should include this disease in the differential diagnosis of facial pain. It is important that, in an area so fraught with emotional overlay, a precise and careful history be taken from all patients and that these data be married to a concise classification of potential causes.