Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Tooth Abscess Or Sinus Infection

What Is A Sinus Infection

Tooth infection or sinus infection?

There are a lot of different cavities in our skulls. Our sinuses are a series of compartments, located above and below our eyes, and behind the nose, that warm and moisturize air as we breathe. The mucus within catches any wayward germs, and for the most part, they keep themselves clean. Occasionally, conditions can change enough to allow for the growth of bacteria. This is when we get a sinus infection.

Safe And Comfortable Emergency Tooth Extractions In Wildomar And The Region

A tooth infection can get out of hand. Evidence suggests oral health problems, specifically in the molars and premolars, may be directly associated with sinus infections. So as tempting it may sound to have an infected tooth treated and salvaged, sometimes this is simply not the safest route to take.

It is often in your best interest to have the infected tooth removed altogether, as this can save you time and money, not to mention spare you the unnecessary stress, hassle, and discomfort from potential complications which can arise and escalate rapidly.

Find out why patients from Wildomar and other communities in the Temecula Valley region come to us. Call now!

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Sinus Vs Regular Toothache

Many symptoms of a regular toothache are similar to those of a sinus toothache. However, sinus tooth pain is primarily felt in the upper molars, affecting several teeth instead of only one. If youre having pain in these teeth, and its coupled with some of the symptoms listed below, its likely that your toothache is due to a sinus infection. You may also feel a bit under the weather or have a fever.

A toothache caused by dental concerns will likely be the only source of pain, and it could be more intense and focused. Pain from a sinus toothache will intensify with certain types of movement. Jumping up or bending over may make the pain worse. This is because the sinus pressure shifts as you move and is felt more in your teeth. The pain may subside when youre sitting or lying down.

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How Long Does A Sinus Toothache Last

A toothache co-occurring with a sinus condition can last a considerable amount of time, between seven to 10 days, at which point the symptoms may clear up. This may not sound like an overly long period of time, however, some patients endure intense pain as a result of the combined infection.

Of course, other factors may contribute to toothache or sinusitis, so a patient in this situation should definitely see a general dentist or oral surgeon for consultation and, if necessary, treatment.

Sinus Tooth Pain Relief

The Endo Blog: Is This Tooth Bothering My Sinuses?

If your sinus tooth pain is caused by sinusitis, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics or antihistamines. If it is caused by bruxism, your dentist may recommend wearing a nighttime mouth guard. Sinus tooth pain caused by tooth damage or tooth decay will need additional dental care, such as filling a cavity.

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Symptoms Of A Sinus Infection Include:

  • Scratchy throat
  • Pain in the forehead, around the eyes, in teeth and jaws

So how can a tooth cause a sinus infection

Our lower sinus, called the Maxillary sinus, sits very close to the upper jaw. So close in fact, that if there is an abscess in the teeth or gums, it can actually expand into the sinus. An abscess is a pocket of infection, caused by a trapped food particle, or a dying tooth nerve. If an abscess reaches your sinus cavity, the infection can spill over into the sinuses, causing a sinus infection.

What do I do if I have an abscess causing a sinus infection?

This is a battle that must be fought on two fronts. Your dentist will need to take the necessary steps to treat the abscess. Oftentimes, antibiotics will be prescribed to reduce swelling and curb the infection in the abscess. Depending on its location and type, the abscess may need to be drained or removed. If the abscess started within a tooth, a root canal will be required. If left too long, the entire tooth may need to be removed.

Once the abscess is taken care of, youll be able to see your primary care physician to get the sinus infection taken care of. However, with the source of the infection removed, you may find that you can beat the rest of it on your own. Your dentist will go over everything with you!

Do you suffer from chronic sinus infections? There may be a deeper issue. Come see Dr. Chauvin to make sure the cause isnt tooth related!

Can A Tooth Infection Cause Heart Disease: Dentist Glendale

A contagion in your mouth could cause more than oral health issues. According to researches conducted by reputed dentists, having an unnoticed tooth infection enhances your risk of heart problems by 2.7 times. Your heart and mouth carry out two very different functions. However, the actions of one still influence the other. For instance, the dental state periodontitis leads to swelling that can add to the possibility of developing one of quite a few serious health conditions like heart disease. Left untreated, the infectivity can get into your bloodstream and move to your heart.

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When Is A Tooth Infection An Emergency

A dental abscess infection is always considered a dental emergency. Any visible gum swelling can be life-threatening if not treated quickly.

During emergency treatment for a dental abscess, the surgeon will open up the abscess and drain it. This will relieve pressure and reduce any pain associated with the infection.

You will also receive prescription antibiotics to help clear the infection.

Is Your Sinus Infection Really A Tooth Infection

sinus infection tooth abscessed

This time of year, many people develop sinus infections as a side effect of colds or flus. Often, they will pass without much special care. However, some persist, lasting for weeks or increasing in intensity, which can drive you to a doctor. Sometimes, this will help, but other times it doesnt. If typical treatments arent helping with your sinus infection, it might be time to consider that your infection might not be a sinus infection after all. It could be an infected tooth, which requires special care to treat.

Read Also: How Are Sinus Infections Spread

Can Brain Abscess Be Treated With Antibiotics

Treat all brain abscesses with antibiotics , typically followed by CT-guided stereotactic aspiration or surgical drainage.

If your child has bad teeth, he or she can also suffer from a brain abscess and can develop one more symptom along with the ones already mentioned. If you experience any of these symptoms be sure to rush to your doctor. He will perform an MRI or CT scan of your brain to see if you truly are suffering from a brain abscess.

Who Gets A Dental Sinus

A dental sinus usually results from a chronicinfection in longstanding necrotic dental pulp . The decay is usually due to caries or trauma. Caries occur due to poor dental hygiene and regular consumption of refined sugars. Other predisposing factors to dental decay include:

  • removable dental prostheses
  • xerostomia .

Infection is more likely after endodontic work, and in patients that are immunosuppressed, having chemotherapy or suffering from blood dyscrasias.

The direction a sinus takes either within the mouth or to the skin is determined on which tooth is involved and follows the path of least resistance the thickness of the bone as well as muscle attachments and fascial planes direct the route of drainage.

Intraoral dental sinuses usually occur in the sulcus on the cheek side near the tip of the tooth involved.

The majority of extraoral dental sinuses start from a tooth in the lower jaw and drain to the chin or under the chin or jawline . Those originating from a tooth in the upper jaw may drain to the cheek or close to the nose. The site of an extraoral sinus opening is often at quite a distance from the infected tooth.

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How Can You Tell If You Have A Toothache Because Of Your Sinus Infection And Not For Another Reason

Outside of noticing sinus tooth pain on one side or both sides after the onset of a sinus infection, one telltale way to learn whether or not your tooth pain is caused by a sinus infection is to see if the pain increases when you bend over and/or move your head quickly. And just like your sinuses get worse at night, sinus-related tooth pain also becomes worse when the sun goes down.

If your tooth pain increases with these movements and under these circumstances, sinus issues are likely causing your tooth pain.

Can An Abscess In The Mouth Kill You

Infected Tooth Or Sinus Problem?

The percentage of people who died due to a dental abscess is really low at the same time, an explanation is required.

The tooth abscess is not the direct cause of death but the infection at the base of the dental pathology could.

In 2007 a 12 y. o. guy from Maryland died because bacteria from an abscess infected his brain.

So yes, if you feel tooth pain caused by infection, the infection itself can be deadly if leaved untreated.

Also Check: How To Make Sinus Pain Go Away

Root Canal Treatment Or Re

Since a deep caries is the most common cause of the infection of the pulp within a dental element, the root canal is the conventional dental abscesses treatment.

After providing you with the local anesthesia, the endodontist opens a little hole in the crown enamel to access the pulp chamber.

With the help of manual tools the specialist will remove nerves, blood vessels, died cells and the infected necrotic material from the inside the affected tooth.

In order to disinfect the root canal and to kill bacteria, usually sodium hypochlorite is injected in the tooth and immediately reabsorbed.

At the end of the canal therapy the dentist closes the canal using a temporary filling and a prosthetic crown. To complete the procedure a few medication are required.

When the infection is completely removed it is possible to close the hole using a special filling called gutta-percha.

In case the doctor doesnt totally remove bacteria from the abscessed tooth, after some time the infection restarts again thats why a second canal therapy is needed. This second procedure is called root canal re-treatment.

What Does A Sinus Toothache Feel Like

A sinus toothache will often feel much like the pressure of other areas experiencing discomfort in the sinuses. It may even be a throbbing, intense pain, because of the pressure on the nerves to the teeth. Typically, tooth pain due to sinus infection is not severe, although it can be a constant ache causing a great deal of discomfort.

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A Case Of Sinusitis Caused By A Tooth

This person had chronic sinusitis for the last few years, that started shortly after she had a metal post put into one of her upper back teeth. Upon looking at her x-rays I noticed that the metal post that was put in one of her upper teeth looked like it had pierced through edge of the tooth and gone slightly into the bone. This caused an abscess that was leaking into her sinus.

Heres the x-ray of her upper right teeth:

To make the x-ray below easier to see, the tooth is green, the infection is red, and the sinuses are blue:

Sadly, due to the fracture in the tooth caused by the large metal post, the tooth had to be extracted.

The oral surgeon who extracted the tooth told me that the tip of the tooth broke off just above the metal post, causing the root fragment to get pushed into the sinuses during extraction. He had to open up the sinus to retrieve the root and he was able to suction out a lot of the infection he said it was a pretty bad infection.

Is It Sinus Or Tooth Pain

Can Sinus Infection cause toothache? – Dr. Sangeeta Honnur

Its springthat beautiful time of year when everything is in bloom. But for allergy sufferers, spring may forecast a season of struggle and discomfort. Spring allergens can cause nasal inflammation and lead to sinus infections.

What does all of this have to do with your teeth? Plenty. On top of everything else a sinus infection brings, it can also cause tooth pain. How do you know if the pain youre feeling is from a sinus infection or a tooth that needs attention? Read on to find out.

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How Do You Know If A Tooth Abscess Is Spreading

If you have a fever and swelling in your face and you cant reach your dentist, go to an emergency room. Also go to the emergency room if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. These symptoms may indicate that the infection has spread deeper into your jaw and surrounding tissue or even to other areas of your body.

Sinus Infections And Your Teeth

Many people do not realize the intimate connection between teeth and sinuses. We tend to disconnect our teeth and mouth from our general health, while the mouth-body connection is a big part of or general health. Our sinus and teeth are related in a number of ways.

The maxillary sinus is an air space in the face, behind the cheekbones. This air space is connected with our nose and is lined with a mucous membrane. Many people ask why we have these air spaces in our face. While we really dont know the best explanation is to think how heavy our face would be if it was solid bone. They also aid in humidifying air and in immune responses of the body.

The roots of the back upper teeth sit at the base of the maxillary sinus. Many times the sinus is wrapped around the roots with only a thin layer of bone separating the nerves in the teeth from the sinus membrane. This thin separation makes any issues in the teeth, or sinus, related.

When you get sinus pressure or a sinus infection the inflammation of the sinus membrane and pressure from fluid in the sinus can put pressure on the nerves that give feeling to the upper teeth. It is not uncommon for a patient to complain of a toothache in one or ALL the upper back teeth, when it is a sinus infection that is causing the problem.

Modern dentistry that treats the whole body, not just the teeth, helps us to avoid the mistakes of the past and improve your overall health.

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Can A Sinus Infection Cause Jaw Pain On One Side

It is a common condition that affects the sinuses. On one side of the jaw, there is more inflammation in the nasal cavity, which is known as sinusitis. Colds and allergies are the most common causes of sinusitis. In addition to causing inflammation in the cavities that surround your cheeks, the condition can also cause pain on either side of your jaw.

Can A Dental Infection Cause A Sinus Infection

(A) Persistent sinus tract over tooth 21 after endodontic ...

A dental infection can cause a sinus infection.

An evidence review from 2012 estimated as much as 40% of chronic maxillary sinus infections were due to dental infections.

Older studies estimated this amount was about 10%, but advances in imaging, such as CT scans, have revealed dental infections as a more common underlying cause.

As the back portion of the teeth is close to the maxillary sinuses, infectious organisms can travel to these cavities.

A person with this infection type will have maxillary sinus infection symptoms. They may also have the following risk factors relating to their teeth:

  • history of jaw or dental pain
  • history of or current dental infection
  • history of endodontic, oral, or periodontal surgery, especially tooth extractions

Infection of this type requires antibiotics and treatment of the underlying infection in the tooth or teeth. This approach helps reduce the chance of the infection returning.

A doctor will look at differences in symptoms to help diagnose a toothache that a sinus infection is causing or one from a dental problem.

A sinus infection can cause:

  • interference with a persons sense of smell
  • one-sided nasal obstruction, or a stuffy nose
  • runny nose, typically on one side

Signs that may be different from sinusitis and could indicate a dental problem include:

  • dental pain with temperature changes, such as when eating or drinking something cold or hot
  • facial swelling
  • gum swelling near a tooth
  • pain near a tooth that has dental work

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How To Identify A Toothache Vs Sinus Pressure

Mouth pain. It not uncommon and many of us have or will likely experience it in some capacity at some point throughout our lives. However, just because youe noticing a degree of oral pain, it important not to self-diagnose or come to a conclusion on your own. Here is where wee going to describe how to identify a toothache versus sinus pressure.

What is a toothache?

Simply put, a toothache can be defined as experiencing pain in or around a tooth. Toothaches can be caused by a variety of dental issues, including: tooth decay, an abscess, cracked or damaged teeth, a loose or broken filling, grinding your teeth, or an infection.

How do I know if I have a toothache?

If you have a toothache, you may be experiencing symptoms like: sharp or throbbing pain in a localized area in your mouth, swelling, a fever or headache, or a foul taste/smell from the infected tooth. If there is swelling, youl want to schedule an appointment with your dentist ASAP. Additionally if the pain is severe if you start to develop pain in your ear, head or when opening your mouth or if youe having difficulty swallowing or breathing,youl want to contact your dentist to help remedy the problem as soon as possible.

How will my toothache be treated?

How can I prevent a toothache?

What is sinus pressure?

But why do my teeth ache when I have a sinus infection?

How do I know if I have sinusitis?

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