Abstract:
Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD) accounts for the highest mortality
rate among the non-communicable diseases across the globe. In the
developed countries the incidence of IHD shows a slow decline over the past
two decades. It is traditionally considered as a disease of the elderly though
clinicians and pathologists experience more and more younger individuals
getting affected by the condition since last few decades due to varied of
reasons. IHD has a variety of presentations some of which could lead to
diagnostic difficulties unless due caution is exercised. Isolated referred pain
to teeth, jaw or craniofacial region is one such rare presentation for which
many theories have been put forward to explain the mechanism though none
is conclusive. When a patient complains of an unusual pain in the
craniofacial region or the jaw, the remote possibility of its cardiac origin
should always be born in the mind of the examining physician or the dental
surgeon. Otherwise it could not only lead to unnecessary dental
interventions but also it could delay the diagnosis and treatment of a more
serious health condition of the patient sometimes leading to severe morbidity
or even death. This case illustrates a situation where a young male suffering
from intermittent tooth pain/jaw pain for over a period of three months,
seeking dental treatment including extractions and restorations from a
qualified dental surgeon, suddenly collapsed and died at workplace after
complaining of excruciating tooth-pain. The cause of death was established
after the meticulous post mortem examination as IHD due to coronary
thrombosis.
