Toothache, one of the most common pains in life, is experienced by almost all adults and seriously affects the physical and mental health of patients. As the saying goes, toothache is not a disease, but pain can be fatal. If it is a worm tooth (tooth decay), taking the means of filling or extracting the tooth can stop this pain. However, if it is not the tooth itself or the gum, even if you have extracted many teeth, the pain is still there, it is not toothache, but may be trigeminal neuralgia, especially the pain attack on the head and face when you brush your teeth or touch your face. What causes trigeminal neuralgia? It is known that about 95% or more of the causes are due to the presence of arterial vascular compression in the section of the trigeminal nerve located between the brainstem and the skull. In addition, non-vascular occupying lesions in the pontocerebellar horn, such as granulomas, tumors and cysts, can also cause the condition. What are the dangers of long-term trigeminal neuralgia? First, long-term application of pain medication will affect liver and kidney function and microvascular system, which will lead to the occurrence of anemia, insomnia, joint band movement, ptosis, psychosis, and even brain, liver and kidney failure over time, endangering life. Secondly, the pain can cause insomnia, depression, emotional depression, often feeling tired, and long-term untreated can even cause personality changes and low self-esteem and autistic tendencies in patients. What can be done to treat trigeminal neuralgia? Except for phenytoin sodium or carbamazepine, which may be effective for some mild patients, general central sedative drugs, depressants and hormones have no significant effect. Some advocate radiofrequency thermocoagulation, local injection of anhydrous alcohol, and balloon compression, which are also effective in relieving pain, but cannot prevent recurrence. Currently, the most effective treatment for trigeminal neuralgia is minimally invasive surgery. Microvascular decompression is the most common radical method used in functional neurosurgery internationally. It is a mature, simple, less risky, less invasive procedure with only a few centimeters of incision, and does not damage brain tissue or nerves.