Pain can be distracting for any individual. Pain in the teeth and facial area is most common for many people. Now a new treatment is seen for nerve pain.
A type of nerve pain can cause discomfort in the teeth and facial area. This is called trigeminal neuralgia. Treatment for this nerve pain though can have side effects for the patient. A new treatment though can be more effective and have lesser side effects.
Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic nerve pain. It can be triggered by many things, including shaving, brushing teeth or even just by the wind. The pain is usually caused by an irritation on the trigeminal nerve.
Researchers from the Center of Dental Medicine at the University of Zurich have found a substance that can effectively treat this pain. It is more effective and makes the pain more tolerable.
The new substance is called BIIB074. This substance inhibits sodium channels. Pain happens when these pain channels are activated in nerve cells. Anesthesia could possibly be used for this, but then the region where the pain originates in this type of nerve pain is too deep for an injection to be used.
Medicine is usually the treatment used for this nerve pain. However, the treatments used so far have side effects. Also, the treatments used so far block all types of sodium channels. BIIB074 is more tolerated and does not produce side effects, according to the University of Zurich's site.
The side effects that have been seen with other treatments include tiredness and concentration problems, as explained by Dominik Ettlin, a dental specialist. The substance is still being tested. More testing would be done with more subjects to see if it can be a real effective alternative, as Science Daily reports.
Trigeminal neuralgia affects mostly women than men. Those affected are also usually older people. For them, a new treatment is seen for nerve pain. Personalized therapy is seen as more effective for lower back pain.
