Often people visit the dentist thinking they have a tooth infection to find that the problem is coming from the sinus, not the tooth. Dr. Mark J. Warner, DDS, who owns Mark Warner DDS General Dentistry in Fairfield, California, explains here why it is so easy to confuse one pain for the other.
It is all too easy to confuse tooth pain with sinus pain. We have seven sinuses, or air-filled cavities in the head. When inflammation in one of the sinuses occurs, it can easily mimic dental pain. Such inflammation is the fifth most common problem diagnosed that will require a course of antibiotics.
For example, you can have an abscessed tooth - obviously it will need to be on the upper arch - that is causing you pain and discomfort. If it progresses far enough, it can break into the sinus face and cause inflammation of the sinus lining.
Using Antibiotics
If that happens, you would probably want to be seen as quickly as possible. Treatment is not that difficult; you would need a course of antibiotics and a root canal. If the abscess responds well to treatment, then hopefully you would not need any treatment worse than that.
In other cases, you can think you have a toothache but it is actually the sinus itself. You can have an infection in the sinus floor, which is a membrane that is close to and drapes over the top of the upper molars. As a result, it can put pressure on the tooth as well as the nerve that goes into the tooth and causes a lot of pain.
This scenario is different than when a tooth is causing sinusitis. It is just inflammation of the sinus, which creates a pressure because of the physical proximity of the sinus to the tooth, and that pressure can make the tooth hurt.
Sinus and Not Tooth
We often have people coming to us with a toothache and it ends up being a problem with their sinus. It doesn’t happen all the time but it does happen. If they have a cold and sinus symptoms and I cannot identify another reason for a toothache, we usually figure it is a sinus problem. Usually in that case, they will need an antibiotic and a decongestant too to clear the problem.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
