Pain relief can be painful

Mandibular nerve block is periodically used procedure used to treat neuralgic pain in the distribution of trigeminal nerve. It is a commonly performed block in outpatient settings at our institute. We present a case of an elderly edentulous patient with trigeminal neuralgia who suffered recurrent temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dislocation following mandibular nerve block. The patient presented with complaints of severe pain, inability to close mouth, and eat food since 2 days. Anterior closed reduction of TMJ resulted in reduction of joint and immediate pain relief. However, the maneuver failed due to recurrent dislocation of the joint. A Barton dressing was applied to prevent another dislocation. This was followed by autologous blood injection into the joint. This case focuses on the preponderance of clinical evaluation and accentuates the need for additional forethought to be taken during pain procedures, particularly in the geriatric population.