Toothache associated with a sinus infection

introduction

Sinusitis is an inflammatory change in the mucous membranes in the sinuses caused by viruses or bacteria.
When the inflammation primarily affects the maxillary sinus, patients often report toothache. This phenomenon is mostly due to the proximity of the maxillary teeth to the maxillary sinus.

When the person is healthy, all caves are filled with air. In the case of an inflammatory change in the mucous membranes, secretions or possibly even pus form. Due to the obstructed drainage, the paranasal sinus fills and this is how the symptoms arise.

Humans have a total of six different cavities embedded in the skull, which are also generally referred to as paranasal sinuses. Mention should be made of the pine cave (Maxillary sinus), Frontal sinus (Frontal sinus), Sphenoid sinus (Sphenoid sinus), Ethmoid cells (Cellulae ethmoidales), Lacrimal sinus (Lacrimal sinus) and the palatal cavity (Palatine sinus).

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Symptoms

In addition to a deterioration in general condition, a sinus infection can lead to numerous accompanying symptoms such as fever, flu-like feeling and headache.
These headaches usually only occur when the sinus infection has progressed and when there has already been pronounced mirror formation.

Patients usually complain about the said headache when they bend over or down. The pain character is described as throbbing, dull and very uncomfortable. Tapping the sinuses is also often described as extremely uncomfortable and painful.

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Toothache

In some cases it can also happen that the main symptom of sinusitis (also Maxillary sinus infection or Sinusitis) is not just the headache or general malaise, but unspecific toothache is caused by a sinus infection.

Toothache is understandably misinterpreted in this context and the cause is suspected to be a tooth root inflammation or a tooth decay etc. But it is important to see the temporal relationship between toothache and sinusitis. Due to the close anatomical relationship between the roots of the maxillary teeth and the paranasal sinuses, inflammation or bacterial colonization of the sinuses can also irritate the teeth. Typically, the irritation manifests itself as a dull pain that is not precisely attributed to a tooth. The symptoms increase when the head is tilted forward or when there are rapid turning movements.

In most cases, patients do not realize they have a sinus infection (Sinusitis) to have. You speak of a cold or runny nose. In this context, many people complain of a toothache in the upper jaw that has occurred at the same time, but this usually subsides a few days after the sinus infection has subsided.
If the toothache worsens and the cheek swells, a visit to the dentist is necessary.

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Toothache in the upper jaw

Is the focus of infection and inflammation in the so-called maxillary sinus (Maxillary sinus) the inflammation process can lead to pain in the upper jaw. The maxillary sinus is the middle nasal passage and contains the largest sinus. Inflammation in this area is also called maxillary sinusitis.

The pain can radiate into the area of the face and also the upper jaw. It is also interesting that the deepest point of the maxillary sinus is in the area of the first molar (Molar) is located. There the secretion flows there following the force of gravity and can only flow away with difficulty because the opening of the maxillary sinus is further above. If there is no constant exchange of secretions, pathogens can spread well there and cause painful inflammation in the area of the upper jaw.

The pain is dull and throbbing. It gets worse when you bend your head forward or when you perform certain movements, such as hopping.Due to the direct proximity to the teeth, toothache is not uncommon for an inflammation of the maxillary sinus.

Toothache in the lower jaw

In the case of sinusitis, the mucous membranes swell in the course of the inflammation process. This swelling can irritate the tooth nerves, so that toothache can occur in both the upper and lower jaw, even if the lower jaw is spatially separated from the sinus and is therefore much less affected. A visit to the dentist provides clarity.

Toothache on the front teeth

In typical sinus infections, pain is caused by the swelling of the mucous membranes and the resulting increased pressure in the sinuses. As a result, the pain is often diffusely localized on a facial region. However, if the incisors are explicitly affected by the pain, irritation of the dental nerves can be considered. This nerve irritation is probably also caused by the swollen mucous membrane and then causes pain in the teeth to which the nerve leads, for example in the incisors. However, the exact mechanism is still part of current research and has not yet been fully clarified.

Earache

Inflammation of the sinuses can sometimes affect the ear and cause pain.

There are two conceivable mechanisms by which the ear is affected. On the one hand, the pathogens in the paranasal sinuses can trigger a painful otitis media just because they are in close proximity to the ear. The ear trumpet is relatively short, especially in small children, so that the infectious agents have a short way to trigger another infection in the ear.

Another mechanism engages the connecting tube between the nasopharynx and the middle ear. This connecting pipe is also the "eustachian tube " or ear trumpet and plays an important role in equalizing pressure.
If this structure is affected by the inflammation, the ear trumpet can clog or swell. This can make pressure equalization more difficult, so that there may be a feeling of under or over pressure in the middle ear. These changes in pressure can also be painful, especially if the usual measures such as yawning or swallowing cannot equalize the pressure.

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What helps against the complaints?

Home remedies

Onion sachets can be used as a home remedy for a sinus infection (which is the cause of toothache). To do this, chop one or two onions and heat them in the microwave, for example. Chew the onions that are no longer hot or wrap them in a cotton or kitchen towel and hold them to your ears. The heat and essential oils in the onion work to loosen the mucus and reduce inflammation.

You can also work with other essential oils, such as pine needle, eucalyptus or mint oil in steam baths. However, this should be avoided in children under two years of age. Even in older children, essential oils should be used with caution and only after consulting a doctor.

It is important to remember that home remedies should always be an additional measure and if the inflammation does not decrease in a normal time frame, medical advice must be consulted.

homeopathy

There are four homeopathic preparations that can be used with preference for sinus infections.

Kalium bichromicum is recommended when the mucus is rather thick and tough and the pain improves in fresh air.
Another remedy is loofah, which is effective for purulent inflammation, which is also associated with headaches in the forehead area and dry mouth.
The preparations Pulsatilla and Mercurius vivus are recommended for sinus infections with chills or pain above the eye region.

If you are unsure which preparation should be taken in the individual situation, you can consult an experienced doctor.

Painkiller

For pain therapy in the case of sinusitis, common painkillers are usually sufficient. Possible preparations are, for example, paracetamol or ibuprofen.

If ibuprofen is taken for a long time, the additional use of a stomach protector (proton pump inhibitor, such as pantoprazole) should be considered in order to reduce the risk of gastric ulcer (Ulcer) to decrease.

You should also be careful not to take more than the maximum dose of the medication. For paracetamol this is 4g and for ibuprofen 2,400 mg per day. Further restrictions apply in patients with impaired kidney function. The instructions of the attending physician and pharmacist should be observed.

What else can help?

Particular attention should be paid to the mucus solution in the case of sinusitis so that it can drain away. This measure alone can alleviate a number of symptoms.

So that the mucus is liquefied, care should be taken to drink enough. Two liters per day is a good guideline value during the illness. Various herbal teas are available here, which also have a decongestant and anti-inflammatory effect. Examples of this are, for example, peppermint or chamomile tea. Fresh ginger tea also has an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect.

You can also do nasal rinses with salt water twice a day to further loosen the secretion. Steam inhalations are not only recommended for sinus infections, but also for common colds. The irritated mucous membranes are soothed by the warm and moist steam and the airways are moistened. If you are not prone to allergies you can add sprigs of thyme to the hot water bath. An alternative to this would be to add some table salt to the water.

Duration

In more than two thirds of all patients with sinusitis, the symptoms subside within two weeks. In some cases, the disease can last for more than six weeks, but after that 90% of all patients are symptom-free again. With a small percentage, the acute illness turns into a chronic sinus infection, which in the worst case can persist for a lifetime.

Cause of toothache

The exact cause of toothache associated with sinus infections is not yet entirely clear. It is seen in the irritation of the tooth nerve responsible for the sensation of the teeth. This nerve runs near the upper paranasal sinus.

If the mucous membrane in the paranasal sinus is inflamed and thickened, this can lead to irritation of the nerve, which is increasingly compressed as the mucous membrane swells. Stimuli are generated far above the actual tooth. However, since the brain usually assigns stimuli that are transported through this nerve to one or more teeth of the upper jaw, this also happens in those cases when the tooth is actually not affected at all.
The victim thinks he has a toothache, but the teeth are completely healthy. Depending on the strength of the irritation, the pain can become so severe that an appropriate pain reliever has to be used. The pain character is described as biting and very unpleasant, but it can also turn into a kind of knocking or throbbing. Characteristically, the pain can also wander and have a pulling character. With severe sinus inflammation, patients complain that the entire upper or lower jaw hurts. An exact localization to a specific tooth is not possible.

It should not be forgotten that a sinus infection can, but does not have to, trigger toothache, i.e. if toothache occurs in a temporal connection with a cold or a sinus infection, the cause can still be root inflammation of the tooth or gums or caries attack on one or more teeth.

If the pain does not suddenly improve after the symptoms of the cold have subsided, the cause of the pain is dental. In this case, a dentist should be consulted.

As a rule, people who have more sensitive tooth nerves and who have the pain associated with colds have already made the experience, so they usually know where the symptoms are coming from. The time sequence is also characteristic. First the runny nose begins, then as the sinus infection increases, so do the toothache. In reverse order, the symptoms disappear when the disease subsides.

An attempt can also be made to test its sensitivity by tapping the nerve. If you tap with a small hammer in the mouth (at the transition between the upper and lower jaw), if the actual teeth are not the cause, increased pain in one or more teeth will occur. The reason is the hypersensitivity of the tooth nerve, which is also known as neuralgia. If one of the teeth is to blame for the discomfort, the pain stimulus cannot usually be triggered by tapping the nerve, but only by tapping the tooth directly or placing a cold pad on a suspect tooth.

Sinusitis in pregnancy

Sinus infection can also occur during pregnancy. The biggest problem in this situation is that many drugs and antibiotics that would normally be used are not approved for pregnancy. A doctor should therefore always be consulted during pregnancy who can advise on the therapy options, because even if left untreated, sinusitis can have consequences for the child.

Home remedies such as steam inhalation, for example, are a good alternative to taking medication, as they liquefy the mucus and allow it to run off.
It should also be noted that, if possible, dental treatment should not be carried out in the first trimester of pregnancy.