Bryanna -

I saw your posts to Craig and am having a similar problem after a failed root canal and eventually an extraction of an upper tooth (#13). I think my issues has to do with my sinuses as I know the site of the infection and tooth was abutting my sinus canal. My dentist has basically told me there is nothing wrong with my teeth and no more can be done for me although I am still in pain and have swelling of my upper jaw (it has been over 6 months now). My question to you is - where would you recommend I go next? An EMT? Dental x-rays are not showing any infection, but I think there is some deep-seeding infection or something else present that is causing the pain and swelling.

Thanks, in advance, for any advice.

Hi sunflower,

You are wise not to just let this continue. Unfortunately, dentists are not taught too much outside of "dental tooth carpentry" and many are basically clueless about the sinuses. Yes, I would agree with you that a consult with an EMT physician would be wise. It may behoove you to bring your dental xrays of that tooth/area, both before and after the root canal was done and any that were taken after the extraction. It certainly couldn't hurt. There is a dental cat scan that can be done to help determine infection or bone deterioration in the upper maxilla/sinus cavity. Frequently an EMT dr will recommend that. If he doesn't, it would be wise to bring up this subject and get his response on it.

I am sorry you are dealing with this discomfort, etc. Hopefully you will get some answers soon.... stick with it..... you are on the right track!

Keep us posted.
Bryanna

Hello all,

Once again it's been many months since I last checked in with an update on my wife's condition. I'm sad to say that nothing has changed. At the advice of her dentist she had the #15 molar removed. The tooth was in bad shape and had an old root canal. I suppose he (and my wife) were hoping this would solve the problem, but there's been no change since the extraction.

We HAVE come to the conclusion that there's a direct relationship between her sinuses and jaw/face pain. She goes through cycles where her sinuses feel "full" and the jaw pain becomes much worse. This continues for hours or even days until she feels what she calls a "mucus ball" break loose. She coughs it up and out and immediately feels some relief from the pain. The relief is only minor as the pain never completely goes away. Eventually the sinus pressure comes back and the cycle repeats.

All this time she's also had the protruding point at the top of her left jaw bone that only showed up after the initial wisdom tooth extraction in 2009. It sticks out even more when she opens her jaw, and it's only on the left side. None of the doctors seem concerned about this even though we assure them this didn't happen before 2009.

At any rate, we're still at a total loss for what to do. We just emailed her dentist to see if he'll send us a copy of the latest x-rays. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out.

One last thing to note, probably unrelated, is that my wife was diagnosed with hypothyrodism this summer. She's been on meds to treat the condition but that hasn't seemed to have an impact on her jaw/face pain.

Thanks for reading
Craig V.

Craig,

I just answered your pm to me and sent you my email address for the digital xrays.

Ok, so in your previous posts you stated that your wife had an upper tooth that she thought might be a problem but her dentist told her it wasn't. In this recent post you mention that tooth #15, her upper left second molar, which was previously root canaled turned out to be in bad shape and she had it extracted.

Two things here.... #1) all root canaled teeth are infected and they cause irritation/inflammation to the surrounding bone, tissue, nerves.... etc. The longer they are present the further the deterioration. #2) Tooth #15 is often located in or near the sinus... if this were the case with this tooth, then the infection from her tooth could have proliferated into her sinuses. This condition is very, very common. Unfortunately, it is not always recognized by a dentist.... sometimes not even an oral surgeon. Therefore, it goes untreated for months, years.....and the person ends up with chronic sinus infection or worse.

Did the surgeon mention anything to her about a sinus perforation during the extraction? Has she seen an ENT doctor? A special 3 D sinus scan can be done to see if there is an opening in the sinus and/or there is infection.

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

The dentist didn't discuss the possibility of sinus perforation with us when he extracted the #15 tooth. Will a perforation close up by itself over time? Or does it require surgery to make that happen?

My wife has been seen by an ENT for over a year now. He initially ordered a CT scan and has examined my wife many times but has never found a problem. He continues to have my wife come back to see him every few months, to keep tabs on her I suppose. He's never mentioned a 3D scan, but we will certainly ask him about at her next appointment!

Hi Craig,

Some sinus perforations close on their own, others need to be surgically repaired. However, if there was infection in the bone in that area and it had traveled to her sinuses.... the perf could still be open.

What is the ENT doing for your wife?? Does he know about her full dental history about this tooth being root canaled and infected?

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

What is the ENT doing for my wife? Good question. From what I can see, he's doing nothing. We've been going to him for over a year and we've told him absolutely everything about her dental history. He seems stumped, in my opinion, but doesn't want to dismiss my wife entirely. So instead he has her come back every few months for followups. The last time we were there he scoped her sinuses all the way down into her throat and declared that he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

We're not ready to move onto a new ENT just yet. We're due to see him again in two weeks. I'll make sure to ask about the test you mentioned that specifically checks for perforations. At this point that scenario seems to make the most sense, considering all of her symptoms.

The one thing that doesn't seem to fit is the fact that her jaw now protrudes right at the hinge on the left side. Perhaps this was damage caused from the initial wisdom tooth extraction 2 years ago.

Has anyone suggest you try a Neti Pot/salt bath sinus wash? This will help clear mucus, allergins and other possible irritants and perhaps provide a clue re the source of this irritation - perhaps give your sinuses a chance to heal. Was a major relief for me. I had to discover this simple technique myself. I had (have) a similar chronic sinus irritation following extraction of an infected tooth that penetrated into the sinus cavity. A few months later had a bridge installed which was followed shortly after by a lolapaloozer of a sinus infection - whew! Cronic sinus irritation off and on in upper jaw area of extraction ever since. Docs haven't a clue - as the post above stated, dentists are good carpenters but, well, this thread says it all. My advice, KISS, quit the meds, do the neti-pot twice daily and see what happens. Your body is likely "smarter" than the dentists.

PS: KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid (ancient engineering lab advice)

Hi, I too have been having the exact same problems since a root canal two years ago. I've since had the tooth extracted and a dental implant placed - but still my condition is the same. I've been to every oral surgeon, ENT, allergist, jaw specialist (even a chiropractor) under the sun and nobody can figure out what the problem is. I'm very curious to see if anybody has any luck with their problem.

I'm so glad I found this board. I'm going to apologize for the long post in advance. I have a tooth (I believe its #13) that had a root canal 10 years ago and never really got better. The dentist who did the work told me at 6 months that pain that long wasn't unusual and everything was fine. I have always had a lot of sinus issues and had sinus surgery to correct several issues about 5 years ago. The pain I felt in my tooth was unbearable while my sinuses healed. I went to a different dentist 3 years ago who sent me to an oral surgeon, who did another root canal on the same tooth. About a year ago the filling came out and I have had nothing but problems. I don't currently have dental insurance so I have been going to dental schools and dental clinics with sliding fee scales trying to get the tooth fix or preferably removed. They keep quoting me outrageously high fees to do yet another root canal. This past weekend I woke up in extreme pain and with a lot of facial swelling around that tooth. I went to the ER who put me on keflex (I'm allergic to penicillin and sulfas) and pain killers then referred me to another dental clinic. The dentist cleaned out the tooth and then tried to "open up" the abscess so it could drain. It didn't and caused more pain than I ever thought possible. I went back the next day in extreme pain, saw a different dentist who said it looked like the jaw is infected, once again tried to get the tooth to drain, and said I probably have a sinus infection when I mentioned that lots of pus had been draining out of my sinuses on that side. He told me to stop the keflex and put me on clindamycin and a stronger pain pill and said when it heals I need to get a root canal. A couple of other things-I notice the sinus/tooth problems either happen together or one after the other, and why can't I find a dentist willing to just extract the tooth? It's cost me thousands of dollars and more lost hours to debilitating pain that I would rather have put toward work and family. I checked the website I've seen mentioned several times but unfortunately there aren't any dentists in my area. I have been using cold packs several times a day, taking 600 milligrams ibuprofen every 6 hours, rinsing with warm salt water but am still not getting any relief.