Oral medicine and oral cancer: giant cell arteritis with jaw claudication: practice question

A Dentistry question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

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Dentistry · Oral medicine and oral cancer: giant cell arteritis with jaw claudication

Sample item

A 70-year-old woman has a new temporal headache, pain in the jaw while chewing, scalp tenderness and an ESR of 95 mm in the first hour. What is the most appropriate immediate step?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

D. Start high-dose glucocorticoids, then arrange temporal artery biopsy

Jaw claudication with temporal headache and a raised ESR in an elderly patient suggests giant cell arteritis. Steroids should be started at once because of the risk of irreversible visual loss, and biopsy is done soon afterwards. Dental treatment will not relieve the pain.

Option by option

  • A. Wait for the biopsy result before any treatment

    Delaying treatment until biopsy risks sudden blindness.

  • B. Prescribe carbamazepine for trigeminal neuralgia

    Trigeminal neuralgia causes brief electric shocks, not claudication with a high ESR.

  • C. Refer for extraction of a suspected diseased molar

    A molar extraction would not treat a vasculitis and delays the correct treatment.

  • D. Start high-dose glucocorticoids, then arrange temporal artery biopsy (correct)

    Correct. Prompt steroids protect vision and do not prevent a biopsy a few days later.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

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Questions about this Dentistry question

What is the answer to this Dentistry question?

The best answer is D, Start high-dose glucocorticoids, then arrange temporal artery biopsy. Jaw claudication with temporal headache and a raised ESR in an elderly patient suggests giant cell arteritis.

Why is "Wait for the biopsy result before any treatment" not the answer?

Delaying treatment until biopsy risks sudden blindness.

Why is "Prescribe carbamazepine for trigeminal neuralgia" not the answer?

Trigeminal neuralgia causes brief electric shocks, not claudication with a high ESR.

Why is "Refer for extraction of a suspected diseased molar" not the answer?

A molar extraction would not treat a vasculitis and delays the correct treatment.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Oral medicine and oral cancer: giant cell arteritis with jaw claudication in Dentistry. Steroids should be started at once because of the risk of irreversible visual loss, and biopsy is done soon afterwards. Dental treatment will not relieve the pain.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as a multi-step question: it asks you to combine more than one idea. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Oral medicine and oral cancer: giant cell arteritis with jaw claudication?

Learn the dental formula, eruption ages and tooth structure once, as tables. Then use the flashcards and the other Dentistry questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.