Sinusitis FAQ

my teeth are KILLING ME!

Question:

Yes yes, my teeth are killing me too, even as I write this.  I had a particularly bad experience two weeks ago when I could not sleep because my teeth, face, and head hurt so badly.  I have had allergy problems for years but I have never experienced pain that excruciating. I took antibiotics and am now taking decongestants and nose sprays and all sorts of things to deal with this.  I will be visiting an Ears, Nose and Throat Doctor pretty soon as the next step. Can anyone recommend a good ENT doc in the Seattle area? BTW, I appreciate all the insight and info from folks in this group.  I am just now researching treatment options and many of your comments have been helpful.  Thank you! Laura Feola

Response:

My upper teeth always get it too. I had sinus surgery 6/20/96. The worst part of it was the upper teeth pain, although it was much more tolerable after the surgery than when infected, perhaps since I know the surgery was a leap in the right direction for me and could tolerate it better knowing this. In both cases Oragel worked wonders. I used it after surgery and it truly helped. The relief was almost immediate. I had Tylenol 3 (Codiene) prescribed and really didn’t need it at all after the first day. Surprised the heck out of me!! I also have used Oragel to "psych myself out" when I have felt infections coming on. My infections had been so frequent and long lasting before my surgery that I used Oragel, not only to help me with the teeth pain, but to get through whatever I have had to do at work, etc.. without having this constant nagging reminder of the wonderful symptoms to follow and the uptight anxiety and extreme anger at having these  frequent @&$#$ sinus infections! I also took about 800 mg of Ibuprofen (4 pills) at a time up to 3 times a day. Not only did it help the pain but it helped the inflammation and swelling, and the antibiotic prescribed as with my previously horribly deviated septum and diseased mucosa, toughing it out without long series of antibiotics was a deceptive exercise in pollyanna principles.(Ridiculous in other words!!) Mind over matter, forget it!! I can’t say how happy I am to have had this surgery. I am not totally healed up yet, but it is so nice to have this feeling of carrying poison in my system gone…..not to mention foul moods from feeling like crap a good deal of the time. Sincerely, Linda

Response:

Hey y’all — writing from New York City, where the air is bad enough to have set me back a month in my recovery! On Fri, 5 Jul 1996, L. Feola wrote: > Yes yes, my teeth are killing me too, even as I write this.  I had a > particularly bad experience two weeks ago when I could not

Don’t neglect to visit your dentist.  A frequent cause of sinus infections is an abscessed upper premolar, the nerve canal of which can drain right into the sinus floor.  The diagnosis of "Odontogenic sinusitis" is *very* often missed, and I can attest to the extremely severe consequences of such misdiagnosis (several University of Washington quacks . . . er, physicians,  . . .  misdiagnosed my odontogenic sinusitis as a psychosomatic illness for almost six months, allowing the sinus infection to spread and become very entrenched.  If you have a serious sinus infection (or  recurrent sinus infections)   You should have dental x-rays of your entire upper jaw  as well as a CT of your sinuses, whether your teeth hurt or not.   If you don’t treat underlying dental problems, the sinus infection can become deeply entrenched, and spread to ears and face and neck and even — I kid you not — to your brain in rare cases (several can be found on Medline, including a few fatalities). > Can anyone recommend a good ENT doc in the Seattle area?

By the way,  I highly recommend Dr. Calvin Knapp, at the Polyclinic in Seattle.  He is a sinus surgeon, but is very conservative about it; he’s accessible and clearly explains things; and he’s a darn nice guy. Aaron *************************************************************************** ***                                 Aaron A. Fox, Assistant Professor,    Dept. of Anthropology,   University of Washington Box 353100, Seattle WA 98195-3100, FAX 206-543-3285, TEL: 206-685-1811 EMAIL: a…@u.washington.edu WWW: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~aaf/ "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.  And I’m all out of bubblegum!" —  Rowdy Roddy Pate, in John Carpenter’s *They Live* "There ain’t nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos" — Jim Hightower. *************************************************************************** ***

Response:

if you feel hypochondriac-al, ask about TMJ, TOO.

Response:

>> I can’t say how happy I am to have had this surgery. I am not totally

  healed up yet, but it is so nice to have this feeling of carrying poison  in my system gone…..not to mention foul moods from feeling like crap a  good deal of the time. << Linda What kind of surgery did you have…I have had chronic sinitus for about twenty-five years….really annoying but never real "painful" not the way I hear it described on this newsgroup….I’ve heard good things and not so good things about "sinus surgery"…any details you can add would be greatly appreciated…..! !^NavFont02F01D3000BNGJHGC1HHD5DAE8 — ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Cyberpost from: Tim Rogers on 07/09/96 @ 22:26 MST        Like to find "F" Hiking Partner (platonic) 40-50 (or so) Ctr Az !        Reasonably experienced – reasonably fit – flexible schedule        Tonto – Coconino – Kaibab – Chiricahuas – Apache-Sitgreaves…..?

Response:

I know just how you feel.  I have TMJ and when I have sinus infections, it really makes my TMJ flare up.  It makes my whole face throb with pain and the inside of my mouth swells up.  Unfortunately, my doctor hasn’t been too helpful in providing any relief for me.  He told me to take up to four advil at a time to help ease the pain and inflammation, but it doesn’t do much good.  Any suggestions?

Response:

Filed under: Sinusitis

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