• Ana Carolina de Oliveira Franco, SiqueiraJosé Tadeu Tesseroli deJT, and Alfredo José Mansur.
• Hospital das Clínicas, Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Capote Valente 668, Pinheiros, CEP 05409-002 São Paulo, Brazil. carolina_of@hotmail.com
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2006 May 4; 124 (3): 163164163-4.

ContextCardiac pain may radiate to the face and lead patients to seek dental care. Dentists may contribute towards the diagnosing of ischemic heart disease and thus refer patients for cardiological evaluation.Case ReportA 50-year-old female patient was referred to a dentist for evaluation of a suspected temporomandibular disorder after repeated visits to medical emergency departments due to excruciating facial and left temporal pain associated with exertion. The pain would start in the chest and radiate to the neck, face and left temporal region. The patient's chief complaint was the facial pain; hence, she sought dental care. The dental examination revealed an edentulous upper jaw and partially edentulous lower jaw with full upper prosthetic set of teeth and decreased vertical dimension. X-ray of facial bones did not reveal any bone abnormalities. A diagnosis of temporomandibular disorder was made. However, she was referred for cardiological evaluation, since her pain was starting in the chest and because she had a past medical history of surgical treatment for coronary artery disease. A diagnosis of angina pectoris was made, the therapeutic regimen was optimized and her angina was brought under control.

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