Case Report of a 27-Year-Old Patient Suffering From Eagle’s Syndrome

Eagle’s syndrome is the term given to the symptomatic elongation of the styloid process or mineralisation of the stylohyoid or stylomandibular ligament or posterior belly of the digastric muscle. Symptoms of Eagle’s syndrome are pharyngeal pain localised in the tonsillar fossa or hyoid bone, hypersalivation, foreign body sensation, rarely voice change. The pain is triggered by head rotation, lingual movements, swallowing or chewing. Diagnosis can usually be made on physical examination by digital palpation of the styloid process in the tonsillar fossa and radiographically (panoramic radiograph, computed tomography scan, magnetic resonance imaging). The vagueness of symptoms and the infrequent clinical observations are often misleading, so the correct diagnosis is most important. Because these patients are often seen by a dentist, it is important that dentists are aware of the syndrome and its treatment. This case report relates to a 27-year-old female with Eagle’s syndrome. It reports her treatment from presenting complaint to complex rehabilitation.