Hi Miranda,
To answer your question....
Does this mean that it is definitely going to involve extraction of teeth with roots in the sinus cavity?
No, not all upper back teeth have roots in the sinus. Depends on the anatomy of your sinuses and the length of the roots of your teeth.

Sinus exposures are not uncommon during extractions of maxillary posterior teeth. They are usually not a cause for concern and can easily be repaired. Sometimes the perforation into the sinus is so small that it just heals on it's own.

There are usually two (rare) situations that would be of concern:
One is if a tooth were severely abcessed and the the infection had invaded deep into the sinus cavity.
The second would be if the root of a tooth were broken off during an extraction and it was pushed up into the sinus.

Both of these situations are rare and not something that you should worry about. If you had an abcess that caused a severe infection into the sinus cavity, your dentist would have already told you about it.

The novocaine shots that you said were painful may have been when you were given an injection in the palate. Extraction of upper teeth requires a palatal injection and they can be a bit ouchy. However, this area numbs up very quickly so the subsequent injections in that area should not be uncomfortable.

The burning pain that you described in the roof of your mouth could have been an irritation in the surgical area from something you ate. Or, you could have developed a canker sore in that area, which is very common after oral surgery for some people.

Have you ever tried homeopathy for pain relief? I have lots of patients who have great success using Arnica, Belladonna, Hypericum, Ruta, or Staphysagria. Each of these does something a bit different and not all are necessary to take. A google search on each of these which regard to dental anxiety and oral surgery pain, could give you some insight into which one may be helpful to you.... if you choose to try it.

Hope this information is helpful to you.
Bryanna

last hurdle tomorrow and the broken mercury laden left bottom 3 molars are gonna depart.

phew! Must say I came close to calling in today to postpone but I will be brave and get this over with.

I am already feeling the increased energy and improvement in a lot of little areas with the top offenders out so this encourages me to see it thru

sure wish it was already this time tomorrow tho

Hey Chemar!

NO postponing this last visit........ you already know the relief you will feel when it's ALL over with! You definitely can do this!!

I am glad to hear that you are feeling well and see improvment in certain things since having the other bad teeth removed......... like I said earlier...... your body will thank you more than you know!

Are you managing eating ok? That can sometimes be the biggest hassle when healing from oral surgery, especially when the extracted teeth are in various areas. It sounds like you are doing terrific and you definitely deserve a great big KUDOS for seeing this through and taking good care of yourself during the process. You are a great inspiration to others ~'.'~

We'll be thinking about you tomorrow......... everything will be fine!

Bryanna

I'm baaaaaaaack

actually
I must admit that the bottoms werent nearly as bad as the tops! even the shots were less icky.

so it is done YAY!! and when I am all healed up I will go check out the partials people. All my other teeth seem ok for now so hopefully will stay so.

Chatting with the dentist today she said how she has clearly noticed speedier and better healing after extractions in those who are diligent with the salt water rinsing starting on day after extraction and going till all is fully healed up...at least a month she said.


So thanks again Bryanna for the advice and the encouragement and to all who helped me pluck up the courage to see this thru

Hey Chemar.........Woo Hoo!! You did it.......many hands are clapping for you!!!

I agree with your dentist about the salt water rinsing. It makes a HUGE difference in the overall healing of the surgical site and it also helps reduce pain that first week after the surgery because it helps reduce inflammation. When I see patients for their post op check, I can tell immediately upon looking at the site if they are rinsing or not irrelevant of what they tell me ~'.'~.

Keep us posted on how things are going and let us know when you start the process of getting your partial dentures!

Bryanna

happy to report all is healing really well, and oh how good not to be bothered by the outchiness that those teeth used to periodically bring! I definitely also have increased stamina and think the infection was likely causing fatigue

sooo glad I did it! just a little fear and discomfort for a really positive outcome.

Hi Bryanna, I hope you're still around I've been to a dental surgeon (after much debating with medical specialists and a CT scan) for what they've finally agreed is a severely abcessed tooth that has invaded deep into the sinus cavity.

I'm booked in for surgery on the 27th, I'm just wondering if you can tell me anything about what to expect/are there any risks associated with this surgery?

The doctor doing the work comes highly recommended, and seems to really know his stuff, but isn't very good at explaining what to expect

I'd really appreciate any insight you or anyone else can give.

Hi Nibbles,

I assume that you are seeing an oral surgeon or a dentist who performs ALOT of oral surgery?

Sometimes dentists do not fully explain a procedure to a patient because every case is a little bit different and they don't want the patient to get "stuck" on something they said and needlessly worry. Sometimes a dentist will get the feeling that a patient would prefer to not know too much and other times the dentist is just not that good at explaining things!

It sounds like you have had an ongoing problem that took alot of steps to get properly diagnosed. I'm glad that the CT scan was done and showed the area of infection. What were your symptoms and did you have any dental pain?

This type of situation can be a bit complicated depending on how much of the sinus has been affected by the infection. Although the CT scan shows a detailed picture, the surgeon won't know the extent until he removes the tooth. It is sometimes difficult to eradicate a long standing sinus infection from a tooth even once the tooth is removed. Antibiotics will be prescribed until he feels the infection has cleared.

As for the surgery itself, it's similar to any other extraction it just may take a little longer to debride the area and close the sinus membrane. It should not be painful to you during the procedure. Post operative pain is different for everyone and it depends on the surgery and your threshold of pain. The risks of this type of surgery are the inability to close the sinus due to the infection and a constant draining occurs. This eventually needs to be remedied because it will cause a chronic infection and can cause you to feel unwell. Another risk is breaking off a root tip in the sinus. If this occurs, then the root tip should be found and removed or the area will not heal properly. Both of those risks are very small and you should not concern yourself about either of them!!

It is imperative that you follow the surgeons home care instructions to the T. It is also very wise to prepare your diet ahead of time so you will have plenty of nutritious foods to eat and drink. Your immune system will need to be healthy while healing. Many times after we have surgery whether we are in pain or not, we just don't feel like doing anything........... so prepared meals that are easy to cook are ideal! Eat light and often, non spicy, no sugar, soft foods high in protein if possible. Drink lots of water and don't use a straw.

Homeopathic remedies that seem to be very helpful are hypericum, arnica, ruta, aconite, gelsemium, ledum, and phos. Sometimes you can purchase these together in one pill. This remedy helps to relieve anxiety, tissue and nerve trauma, bleeding, soreness and brusining. We use a formula with all of these ingredients called Pre Dental Procedure by Arrowroot. It is meant to be started the day before, then the day of and then continued for a few days after the procedure.

Arnica pellets can be used alone after the surgery as a pain killer and tissue healer. Our patients take it about 4 times a day for at least a week post operatively and some say they experience no pain or swelling!!!

If you are a smoker, now is the time to stop. Smoking can prevent the area from healing which could lead to multiple surgeries to close the sinus.

Please let us know how you are doing ~">"~

Bryanna

Thank you so much for your reply Bryanna

I've been having severe headaches for about three years (which is around about the time that I had an extremely bad cavity filled- the dentist at the time wanted to avoid doing a root canal, even though the cavity was very deep. I was happy to save the money so I didn't object )

I started noticing a rotting smell, and I was getting dizzy spells a few months after. I went to the Dr who suggested a sinus infection and gave me antibiotics. It cleared up for a while, then same thing, same diagnosis.

Long story short, it all started getting worse about 6 months ago- I was so run down and sick, infections were cropping up all over- I had a lump the size of a fist on the back of my head under my hair, and several infected lumps on my legs and face. I was getting reoccuring strep infections. The tooth was so painful and headaches so severe that I was waking up in agony every night.

Since the tooth hurt I thought I'd go back to the dentist and get the root canal in the hope that it would solve some of these issues. The dentist that I saw was the head of the practice, he took an exray and insisted that it was a really bad sinus infection, nothing to do with the tooth.

I went back to the dr. He gave me more antibiotics and ran some blood tests, and I asked him to please refer me to a specialist for the sinus problems. Came back that I had glandular fever, a severe iron deficency.

When I went to the sinus specialist, he sent me for the CT, and referred me to the dental surgon. It looks like (from the scan) well over half the sinus is bad And you can see the tooth in the sinus.

The dental surgon seems really good, and he does quite a few of these. I think I'm just freaking out a bit- I feel like I've been sick forever. This has really knocked me flat and is driving me crazy- I can't keep things straight in my head most days because I have such a headache/spacey/tired feeling.. I cannot wait to get this fixed.

Thank you again. I really appreciate all the advice, I'll pick up some arnica before next week, and I've let hubby know he is my slave for the recovery time *evilgrin*

What is the average recovery time for something like this? I've taken 4 days off work, and then have another 2 days over the weekend- do you think that is too much, or too little, or appropriate?

Hi Nibbles,

You have certainly had a very rough time. I am so glad you posted here because this is what can happen when an infected tooth remains in the mouth. Other infections can crop up anyplace in or on the body as the immune system becomes burdened. Infected teeth in the upper arch of the mouth can cause sinus infections. It is NOT uncommon for people to be misdiagnosed and repeatedly treated with antibiotics for sinus infections when the tooth or teeth are what is causing the sinuses to be infected. As long as the infected tooth is present the other areas of infection will not get better until the infected tooth is removed.

We have alot of little membranes in our sinus cavity. Chances are that this tooth has infected the area of the sinus around the tooth root. Once the tooth is removed, the area of infection will be visible to the surgeon and he can clean it out and repair the membrane. Keep in mind that this is done all of the time, it's nothing new. Hopefully, he will have the access he needs to do that through the oral cavity. Sometimes (rarely) the person requires additional sinus surgery to remove the infection. Did he talk to you about that at all? I'm sure he will do everything he can to try to avoid any additional surgeries. You do have a complicated situation but rest assured that the surgeon deals with this situation all of the time and he is prepared to deal with yours.

You will feel SO much better when that tooth is gone and your body has an opportunity to heal that area. Your immune system will be SO happy!!!

Please follow his instructions and make sure you eat nutritiously and drink lots and lots of water post operatively!!

The time you have reserved from work should be adequate. It really all depends on how extensive the infection is in the sinus. If you stay healthy post operatively, your healing time will be quicker. You will be on antibiotics for awhile. If you are not supplementing with a probiotic, it would be very wise to do so. Antibiotics destroy all of the good bacteria in the intestines which can lead to long term intestinal issues and actually slow down the healing process. In our office we recommend a probiotic called Culturelle. You can buy it online at culturelle.com or in a large drug store. It is best to start taking it now and then continue for at least a few months post operatively. For optimal health, it is best to supplement with a probiotic daily for life so the intestinal bacteria has a large abundance of good bacteria for times of stress and so forth.

Please keep us informed of how you are doing ~'.'~

Bryanna