OCCIPITAL NEURALGIA MANIFESTING AS OROFACIAL PAIN

This is a case report and brief review of the literature on occipital neuralgia presenting as dental pain. A patient with a chief complaint of long-standing pain in the maxillary right posterior quadrant was ev aluated. Dental examination demonstrated the pain was not of odontogen ic origin. The patient was referred to a neurologist who was a chronic pain specialist and was diagnosed with a rare neurologic disorder, oc cipital neuralgia referring to the facial region. After conservative t reatment, local nerve blocks, and physical therapy, the patient report ed a dramatic improvement of symptoms and total absence of all orofaci al pain. The case demonstrates an unusual cause of orofacial pain.