Achieving an Accurate Diagnosis for Facial Paralysis

By  Gregory Griffin, DMD, Courtney S. Babb, DMD, Kim L. Capehart, DDS, PhD, MBA

Oral health professionals are likely to see patients who have, or have experienced, facial paralysis, so it is important for clinicians to be aware of its potential causes. While the most common etiologies are Bell’s palsy and trauma, Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS) should be included in the differential diagnosis. Caused by reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus (herpes zoster/shingles) in the geniculate gan­glion, RHS presents as facial nerve palsy accom­panied by an erythematous vesicular rash on the ear, or in the ear canal or mouth.

* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
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