Dentists specializing in facial pain are treating successfully a mysterious condition called trigeminal neuralgia.  Patients suffering from severe facial pain say it feels like being struck by lightning.  Dr. Niessen looks at two ways to treat the facial nerve disorder.

STORY: FACIAL PAIN

SCRIPT #506 SHOOT: 4/17/03

AIRDATE: Monday, April 28, 2003

DHC Master #17 Timecode: 43:30 New treatment for a strange nerve condition

relieves severe pain, pain that actually

feels like you’ve been struck by lightning.

Dr. Linda Niessen looks at how dentists

specializing in facial pain are treating

this condition.

sovt: 1:46 Here is today’s Dental Health Check.

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DIANE WALKING (VOICE-OVER)

SUPER: Plano :02-06

Diane Nabholtz suffers from a mysterious disorder that causes severe facial pain.

NANCY COMING INTO OFFICE So does Nancy Ellsworth.

Both women describe the condition the

same way.

SUPER: Nancy Ellsworth (“Best way I could describe it is like an

Facial Pain Patient :15-20 electric shock. When it first happened

and it would hurt, I would visualize it like

lightning. It felt like a lightning bolt going

up there.”)

SUPER: Diane Nabholtz :26-32 (“I was walking out to the car and I

Facial Pain Patient stepped through grass and walked to concrete, and I thought I had been hit

by lightning.”)

ON CAMERA (STAND-UP BRIDGE)

SUPER: Dr. Linda Niessen :38-42 Suddenly and violently, the nerve in your

Baylor College of Dentistry face can fire and cause severe pain. The nerve is named the trigeminal. And the

condition is called trigeminal neuralgia.

SUPER: Dr. Steven Bender (“You’ve got a nerve that’s firing more

Dentist :48-52 than it should.”)

NANCY INJECTIONS After seeing many doctors and trying

a variety of treatments, Nancy finally

got relief from injections.

PROCEDURE Dr. Steven Bender, a dentist specializing

in head and facial pain, injects an anesthetic

and a steroid.

Page 2

DR. BENDER (“Allow this nerve a period of time where it’s shut off.”)

DIANE AND TREATMENT Diane gets relief from the pain by taking

a drug that controls epileptic seizures--

Trileptal. She also takes an

antidepressant.

DR. BENDER (“Reprogramming those chemicals in that

nerve transmission.”)

DIANE NABHOLTZ (“I have had no trouble at all since I started

taking the medication.”)

NANCY ELLSWORTH (“And so I’m not having any pain in that nerve anymore.”)

ON CAMERA (STAND-UP CLOSE)

When facial pain occurs suddenly like

an electric shock, think of the trigeminal

nerve. New treatment can eliminate the

pain and improve your quality of life.

For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas

A & M System, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen.

Note for viewer inquiries:

Dr. Steven Bender

972-898-1943

5068 West Plano Pkwy

Plano, TX