Facial pain after an injury

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Facial pain after an injury

Rate your pain on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 being the worst pain you can imagine. Then look below to find the appropriate term to apply to the level of severity of your pain.

• 0 = No pain
• 1 to 5 = Mild pain
• 6 to 7 = Moderate pain
• 8 to 9 = Severe pain
• 10 = Worst pain possible

Mild to moderate pain

It is normal to have some mild to moderate pain after a minor facial injury. Home treatment is often all that is needed to relieve your pain.

A jaw disorder called temporomandibular disorder occasionally can begin after a jaw injury, although more commonly it occurs over time from jaw tension.

Pain that occurs with other symptoms, such as redness, warmth, increasing swelling, fever, or pus, may be caused by infection. Infection is more likely to occur if your skin was cut or punctured during the injury.

Severe pain

Severe pain may be a sign of a more serious problem.

• Severe, constant, or localized pain that starts immediately after a facial injury may be caused by a severe bruise (contusion), muscle spasms (trismus), a broken jaw, broken cheekbone, broken facial bone, or dislocated jaw.
• Severe "pinpoint" pain that starts at the time of the injury may mean a broken bone (fracture).

Pain that persists despite home treatment may indicate that the injury is worse than you thought. If you have severe pain following a facial injury or pain that does not get better with home treatment, call your health professional for an evaluation.

Credits

Last updated:	May 15, 2007
Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Reviewed By:	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine, H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer