Chronic Painful Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) are challenging to diagnose and manage due to their complexity and lack of understanding of brain mechanism. In the past few decades' neural mechanisms of pain regulation and perception have been clarified by neuroimaging research. Advances in the neuroimaging have bridged the gap between brain activity and the subjective experience of pain. Neuroimaging has also made strides toward separating the neural mechanisms underlying the chronic painful TMD. Recently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming various sectors by automating tasks that previously required humans' intelligence to complete. AI has started to contribute to the recognition, assessment, and understanding of painful TMD. The application of AI and neuroimaging in understanding the pathophysiology and diagnosis of chronic painful TMD are still in its early stages. The objective of the present review is to identify the contemporary neuroimaging approaches such as structural, functional, and molecular techniques that have been used to investigate the brain of chronic painful TMD individuals. Furthermore, this review guides practitioners on relevant aspects of AI and how AI and neuroimaging methods can revolutionize our understanding on the mechanisms of painful TMD and aid in both diagnosis and management to enhance patient outcomes.
Humans ; Facial Pain/diagnostic imaging* ; Artificial Intelligence ; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders/diagnostic imaging* ; Neuroimaging/methods* ; Pain Measurement/methods*

Classical trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by recurrent attacks of lancinating pain in the trigeminal nerve distribution, and no cause of the symptoms can be identified, other than vascular compression. This type of injury may rarely be caused by identifiable conditions, including tumor in the cerebellopontine angle. If the patient is suspected for secondary trigeminal neuralgia, further evaluation is required to diagnose and treat correctly. We report a case of a 49-year-old woman with a 1-month history of facial pain, who was initially misdiagnosed as odontalgia, and even treated with the extraction of her molar teeth. This case with the review of secondary trigeminal neuralgia may highlight the difficulties of diagnosis, and the importance of early diagnostic imaging, when trigeminal neuralgia occurs with a brain tumor.
Brain Neoplasms ; Cerebellopontine Angle ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Facial Pain ; Female ; Humans ; Meningioma ; Molar ; Neuroma, Acoustic ; Tooth ; Toothache ; Trigeminal Nerve ; Trigeminal Neuralgia

Cholesterol granuloma is an unusual clinical entity described as an inflammatory granulation in response to the deposit of cholesterol crystals. It can develop in any portion of air cells within the temporal bone as a result of a lack of aeration and inadequate drainage, especially in the middle ear cavity. Here, we report very unusual three cases of cholesterol granuloma developed in mandible. In the first case a 68-year-old male with a large mass arising from the mandible was observed. Panoramic radiograph and computed tomography scans revealed a huge expanding lesion in the mandible. In the second case a 47-year-old female with a cystic lesion in the mandible was observed. And in the third case a 19-year-old male complaining atypical facial pain had a large lesion in the mandibular ramus. The histopathologic examinations of the cases showed numerous cholesterol crystals surrounded by ultinucleated foreign body giant cells.
Aged ; Cholesterol* ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Drainage ; Ear, Middle ; Facial Pain ; Female ; Giant Cells, Foreign-Body ; Granuloma* ; Humans ; Male ; Mandible* ; Middle Aged ; Temporal Bone ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) related pain with age, sex and imaging changes of osteoarthrosis (OA).

METHODSAll the patients were grouped based on age, sex, imaging changes of OA and TMD related pain. Craniomandibular index (CMI) was calculated for all the patients.

RESULTSTMD related pain was common in females. Significant differences of CMI were existed in all groups under the age of 45 years old. The occurrence of imagine changes of OA was higher in females than in males (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSTMD related pain and imaging changes of OA were more common in females, especially in 16 - 30 years old females.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Facial Pain ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; Radiography ; Sex Factors ; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; Young Adult