UNILATERAL FACIAL NERVE PARALYSIS CAUSED BY DENTAL INFECTION

Peripheral facial nerve paralysis is the most common form of motor cranial neuropathy. the most common cause is idiopathic facial nerve palsy (bell's palsy) and viral agents, trauma, vascular ischemia, autoimmune inflammatory syndromes, intracranial lesions or infection are the offending factors . peripheral facial nerve paralysis results in inability to control facial muscles on the affected side because of the involvement of the facial nerve, which supplies motor response for the muscles of facial expression. depending on the location of the involved brunch, an expressionless appearance during smiling, inability to close or wink the eye or close the mouth, droop of the eyebrow or the corner of the mouth, numbness or pain around the ear, temple, mastoid, or angle of the mandible, altered sense of taste, hypersensitivity to sounds, or decreased tearing may be seen. treatment depends on clinical examination and appropriate diagnostic tests . however, appropriate treatment is controversial in the literature varying from acupuncture, steroids, antiviral agents , botulinum toxin to surgical techniques . regardless of the therapy employed, supportive measures should be taken as soon as possible. we present here a case of unilateral facial paralysis caused by the dental infection of upper left second premolar.