Months of pain,One missed diagnosis – Dr. Raghunandan K on Why Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Remains Overlooked

For months, a 35-year-old woman kept chasing the wrong problem.

The headaches were constant. Pain around the face. Tightness near the ears. Some days, even chewing felt uncomfortable. She moved between specialists – ENT consultations, neurological opinions, medications for pain relief – but nothing really changed. The pain would reduce for a while and then quietly return.

By the time she reached Dr Raghu Nandan K’s clinic in Bangalore, she wasn’t expecting a dental diagnosis.

But that is exactly what it was.

After evaluation, scans, and jaw measurements, the actual issue became clear: a temporomandibular joint disorder, commonly called TMJ disorder, along with a problematic wisdom tooth. An oral appliance was given, minor procedures followed, and within a week, the pain started disappearing.

This is the strange space oral and maxillofacial surgeons often work in. Patients usually arrive late – not because the problem is rare, but because nobody thinks the jaw could be responsible in the first place.

And that, according to Dr Raghu Nandan K, is the bigger issue.

“People know whom to visit for heart problems or eye problems. But when it comes to jaw pain, facial pain, difficulty opening the mouth, impacted wisdom teeth, or facial injuries, most people are completely unaware that there’s a dedicated speciality for it,” he says.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery continues to remain one of the least understood branches of healthcare in India, despite how closely it is connected to everyday life. The symptoms are rarely dramatic in the beginning. A clicking jaw. Recurring headaches. Neck stiffness. Pain while chewing. Most people ignore it or spend months treating only the symptoms.

Dr Raghu Nandan K has been practicing in the field since 2016 after completing his undergraduate studies under NTR University of Health Sciences and postgraduation from Yenepoya University. Since beginning his Bangalore consultations in 2019, he has steadily built a practice around cases that are often misunderstood, delayed, or passed around between departments before finally reaching the correct diagnosis.

Currently associated with SMILE REHAB DENTAL CLINICS in Sahakarnagar and Kothanur, Dr Raghu and his team handle everything from jaw disorders and wisdom tooth surgeries to full-mouth dental implants, aligners, minimally invasive oral surgeries, and facial aesthetic procedures. But unlike many modern dental setups selling cosmetic perfection, most patients walking into the clinic are simply looking for relief.

Relief from pain they’ve normalised.

Relief from discomfort they’ve adjusted their lives around.

Relief from years of assuming “it’s probably stress.”

What also stands out is the effort to keep treatment accessible. Affordable care remains one of the clinic’s strongest focus areas, especially for elderly patients and people who delay procedures because they assume surgery automatically means high costs or complicated recovery.

Outside the clinic, Dr Raghu’s work has also moved into public awareness campaigns. Alongside NSS teams, helmet safety drives were recently conducted near traffic junctions in Yelahanka and Sahakarnagar to speak about facial trauma and road safety – conversations that usually happen only after accidents occur.

His team has also been involved in dental screening and oral hygiene awareness programs for children in BR Hills, where basic brushing techniques and preventive care were taught directly to students.

The larger point behind all of this is simple: oral health problems rarely stay limited to the mouth.

Sometimes they show up as headaches.

Sometimes as jaw pain.

And sometimes as years of discomfort nobody could properly explain.