Is burning sensation in the face related to TMJ disorder?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 46-year-old female. I was diagnosed with a TMJ disorder a few months back. I have had an ongoing numbness of the tongue on the right side for about nine months. I also have sore teeth and gums, facial pain, numbness, and tingling all over my face. Now my face and the inside of my nose are burning and it feels like my gums are burning a little too. I also have sinus pressure, headaches, extreme dizziness (especially while riding in a vehicle), stuffy ears, and tinnitus.

I know a lot of these symptoms are caused by TMJ disorder, but I am not sure about the burning sensation or sore teeth and gums. I also recently found out I have a decayed upper molar on the right side. I am not sure if that could be causing some of these symptoms. I also see floaters a lot. I had one-sided tongue numbness three years ago which came on suddenly and subsided after two months. I am currently taking Humalog, Metformin, Invokana, Lisinopril, Atorvastatin, and Omeprazole. I have also done a CT scan of the brain, a CBCT scan of the jaw, and blood work. All are normal. Could my symptoms denote occipital neuralgia or trigeminal neuralgia? Kindly help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and can understand your concern.

TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder as you know and have mentioned causes a lot of symptoms and also causes teeth misalignment. This makes changes in the biting pattern of your upper and lower teeth, due to which your teeth hurt during grinding and clenching. In addition to grinding, improper teeth occlusion leads to gaps or spacing between teeth which leads to food and debris accumulation, thus increasing the irritation of gums. Recent studies show the possible but not yet fully understood relationship between the burning sensation of teeth or gums and TMJ. The new decay that you have noticed will cause an electric-like pain sensation with cold or hot foods, or sweets, but not a burning feeling which is usually the pain felt with TMJ.

Trigeminal neuralgia (a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve in the face) is characterized by sharp, shooting electric-like pain usually in the lower face or jaw and sometimes in the eyes and forehead. The pain affects one side of the face and can be triggered by chewing, touching your face, or by wind blowing onto the face which is different from the burning pain you feel.

Occipital neuralgia is a condition in which the nerves running from the top of the spinal cord up through the scalp are inflamed or injured. You will feel pain in the back of your head or the base of your skull. You have not mentioned any of these symptoms, so I think that we can exclude occipital neuralgia and trigeminal neuralgia. Your symptoms may be due to TMJ disorder since it can cause floaters, dizziness, ear pain, headaches, jaw pain, blurry vision, sore throat, and also burning gums.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.