Idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia: clinical aspects and dental procedures.

Objective: Evaluation of the characteristics and dental treatments in a Brazilian series of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) patients.

Study Design: Forty-eight subjects with ITN were interviewed and evaluated according to a systematized approach.

Findings: (a) location of the trigger zone, intraoral in 64.58%; (b) comorbidities, 18 patients (hypertension in 9); (c) treatment with dental procedures for ITN according to duration of pain (31), 44.44% (during the first year), 50.00% (1-5 years), 80.00% (5-10 years), and 100.00% (>10 years). There was no correlation between trigger zone location and the frequency of previous dental procedures (P=.667). There was significant statistical correlation between the number of patients who underwent dental treatments and the duration of ITN (P=.004).

Conclusion: (a) Demographic characteristics of this sample are similar to those described in the literature, (b) the dental procedures were not correlated with location of trigger zone, and (c) patients with long-lasting ITN had more number of previous dental procedures.