At least once a month we will meet a patient who has been incorrectly diagnosed with “trigeminal neuralgia.” Thankfully, true trigeminal neuralgia is relatively rare. Facial pain problems are much more common and are readily treatable by conservative, non-surgical methods. True trigeminal neuralgia has the following characteristics:

• Intense, sharp, electric type pain
• Pain episodes last only a minute or two
• When not having an episode, there is no pain
• A “trigger zone” is known to the patient—usually around the nose or mouth

If your “trigeminal neuralgia” does not include all of the above symptoms, further diagnosis may be required.