sinus or dental problem?
 

I have had what I thought was a sinus infection since January. After several rounds of antibiotics, a round of steroids, and a ct scan I have been told by an ENT that I do not have a problem with my sinuses.

I was told to go to my dentist and have him look at a tooth that has had 2 root canals. Is is really possible that a tooth that has had a root canal can be causing me problems on my face that I thought was from sinus? If I am told that I need to have the tooth removed, what options do I have? Will removal of the tooth end the pressure/pain I have been having?

Hi kitkat,

Kudos to your ENT dr for recognizing the correlation between your upper teeth and your sinuses!

Yes, most definitely an infected tooth can infect your sinuses. We are lead to believe that a root canal procedure "cures" the infection in a tooth. As you have found out after having that tooth root canaled twice, the infection is not cured by this procedure and the surgical root canal called an apicoectomy would also not cure the infection for the following reason. Every tooth has millions of microscopic canals that cannot be cleaned out. Therefore, irrelevant of the number of times the tooth is root canaled or apico'd, it will always be infected. Eventually, the tooth becomes overwhelmed with bacteria and the infection migrates through the tooth into the jawbone, into the sinuses and further.

Based on your statements here, having the tooth extracted is the only reasonable option to removing the source of the infection. However, it is important to know that this type of infection can be difficult to eradicate completely and/or it could end up taking a very long time to heal. But you should not allow this infection to continue because it will go up further than your sinuses and that condition may not be reversible.

I'm sorry you have been dealing with all of this sickness and so many medications. Please see your dentist as soon as possible and keep us posted on how you're doing!

Bryanna