Hello everybody! I have been struggling with bad pain for about a year and a half now. I have yet to be diagnosed, but I have had several opinions from various doctors, dentists and physiotherapists. Half say they think it’s TN and the other half say TMJ disorder. Is there any for sure way to tell whether it is one or the other? Any tests to do this? Another concern of mine is that if I have TN, there is a possibility that I may have MS since MS runs in the family and I am young and have the pain on both sides. I always have the dull, achy pain 24/7, and then when the severe, stabbing shock like pain comes it almost feel like an attack and lasts anywhere from a day to five days. I was just wondering if anyone else has experience with TN and MS or else could give me some insight into their experience of differentiating TN and TMJ disorder. Thank you 
http://www.livingwithtn.org/forum/topics/atypical-tn-2
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Hi.
When I first started having TN symptoms I was first diagnosed with TMJ disorder. My Atypical TN mimics tooth pain and any time I have had dentists involved they blame my pain on TMJ first. Luckily I have a great doctor. She recognized the symptoms and put me on medication that took ALL of my pain away. I have come to believe that TMJ is largely a blanket term used by dentists for anything they cannot diagnose or understand (that is my opinion). I have also had a unnecessary root canal done due to TN pain.
My mother has MS. Also both my mother and my great-grandmother have TN. Having an MRI is important here. It isn't always a clear way of diagnosing MS but it is the first step. I have been screened for MS and do not have it. I have also not experienced other symptoms, just the TN. Both MS and TN can be hereditary so it is important to be careful and pay attention to any early symptoms.
I personally think that there is some relation between the two disorders. They are both nerve disorders. I seem to be very susceptible to experiencing nerve damage and nerve pain. Again, this is just my observation and opinion. For me and my family there are too many coincidences regarding nerve disorders to ignore the relations.