BACKGROUND

Dental pain may have another origin than teeth. It may be caused by myofascial, neurovascular, cardiac, neurological, sinusal or psychological factors. We will discuss 2 rare cases of patients who presented with a cerebellopontine tumor, who initially manifested with symptoms of dental pain.

METHODS

The first patient, male, 44 years of age presented to his dentist with toothache (47), which led to its extraction. Five months later, a second painful episode, more characteristic, revealed the presence of a vestibular schwannoma, which was successfully treated and led to the disappearance of the pain. The second case, a 43-year-old female presented to her dentist with toothache (46), which lead the dentist perform a root filling. Two years later, with a 3rd episode of dental pain, more relevant of a trigeminal neuralgia, a epidermoid cyst of the right cerebellopontine angle was identified and successfully treated leading to the disappearance of the pain.

CONCLUSIONS

Cerebellopontine tumors of this type may lead, in exceptional cases to symptoms of dental pain. Therefore, in face of atypical tooth or facial pain, both a detailed medical history and a detailed examination are necessary, in order to investigate any neurological signs and symptoms, before undertaking any non-essential dental treatment, which may be detrimental for the patients.