TMD encompasses a group of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions involving the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, masticatory muscles, and associated tissues. TMD pain can be associated with biomechanical dysfunction of the TMJ. TMD-related facial pain has been reported in 5-12% of the general population (with a female:male ratio of 2:1), according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s fact sheet on trigeminal neuralgia, but only 4%-7% seek treatment. While often mild in nature, progression to severe and/or chronic pain is associated with greater stress and comorbidities and often results in significant loss of work and increase in other healthcare related costs. Typical pharmaceutical interventions include oral (systemic) NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and low-dose antidepressants.

In contrast, TN can be much more severe. TN is a unilateral painful disorder that is characterized by brief, electric-shock-like pain and is abrupt in onset and termination. TN originates at the stem prior to the nerve dividing into the three individual nerves and thus can affect the entire orofacial region. TN is a rare disease and studies on prevalence are scarce. According to a May 2005 publication from Manzoni, et al., entitled “Epidemiology of typical and atypical craniofacial neuralgias”, data suggest that TN has an incidence in the general population of between 4 to 5 per 100,000 people, but some estimates range as high as 20 per 100,000 people in persons over 60 years of age. The ratio of women:men is 3:2, with a higher proportion seeing onset after the age of 40 and a higher incidence in patients with multiple sclerosis. Depending on severity and frequency, various surgical interventions are common. Typical pharmaceutical interventions include the anticonvulsant carbamazepine, although use of botulinum toxin to block nerve sensation and opioids to numb sever pain are common.