Facial pain occupies the area below the orbitomeatal line, above the neck and anterior to the pinnae. It comes in many forms and may or may not be accompanied by other symptoms. It may be acute, subacute, or chronic, arise from local pathology (e.g. dentition, parotid gland, sinus), be referred from other structures (e.g. pain behind the eye may be due to cervical spondylosis or sphenoidal sinusitis) or be part of a neurological syndrome such as trigeminal neuralgia or persistent idiopathic facial pain (previously termed atypical facial pain). There is a wide differential diagnosis. As with headache, serious causes are rare. Some benign conditions are particularly painful (trigeminal neuralgia, cluster headache) but have effective treatment.