Face pain may be dull and throbbing or an intense, stabbing discomfort in one or both sides of the face or forehead.
Pain that starts in the face may be caused by a nerve disorder, an injury, or an infection in a structure of the face. Face pain may also begin elsewhere in the body.
Sometimes face pain occurs for no known reason.
Abscessed tooth(continuous throbbing pain on one side of the lower face aggravated by eating or touching) Cluster headache
Herpes zoster(shingles) or herpes simplex(cold sores) infection
- Injury to the face
- Myofascial pain syndrome
Sinusitisor sinus infection (dull pain and tenderness around the eyes and cheekbones that worsens when bending forward) Tic douloureux
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome
Review Date: 08/02/2009
Reviewed By: Linda Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.