HomeAnswersOral and Maxillofacial SurgerysinusitisCan a sinus infection cause toothache and eye pain?

Can a sinus infection spread and cause a burning sensation in gums and toothache?

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The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

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Published At March 24, 2023
Reviewed AtOctober 13, 2023

Patient's Query

Hi doctor,

Last year I had a covid infection for the very first time. I became very congested, like when you have bad flu, and unable to clear the nose properly. This quickly turned into a sinus infection. The congestion was on the left side in the maxillary sinus and nostril. I felt severe pain and pressure on the teeth, mostly my first molar and premolar, eye, and cheek. I took Doxycycline, and it went away and took a few weeks in total to go away. The pressure on the tooth went away, but I went to my dentist. The bitewing showed some cloudiness. He said that there were sinuses at the time. He did a nerve test on that first upper molar and did not respond, and I felt nothing despite the sinus pain and pressure on the left side. I had an amalgam filling on that tooth when I was 11 years old, and then I got it removed and replaced with a composite filling five years ago. I completely forgot about this, but during the pandemic eight months ago, I remember having a lot of pain in that tooth. I emailed the dentist for an opinion, but the pain went away and never came back. The filling was close to the nerve. Could it have been dying back then? But I have had no issues since. I went to get CBCT (Cone Beam Computed Tomography) a month ago. I do not have the scans, but the dentist told me there was some shadowing above that tooth and also mucous, and it is close to or in my sinuses. I had a cleaning that day, and he said we could think of a root canal at some stage. Shortly after about five days, I experienced an intermittent ache on that side, then burning around my top teeth, and the gum papilla behind the front teeth seemed a bit swollen, and sometimes those toothaches were on and off. I had a burning sensation in my mouth, tongue, and palate for the last few weeks, which slowly seemed to calm, but the symptoms began to grow. I did not understand what it was. I tested throat swabs and mouth swabs for thrush and strep throat, and all were clear. My mouth is burning, and my throat has become tight and raw, raw, making it difficult to swallow. I feel a swelling developing and increased saliva, and it feels like I have blown a balloon sometimes. The swelling is not visibly seen, though, but I am developing saliva on both sides. All this is coming from nowhere and growing. Then intermittent aches in my upper cheek ache on the dead tooth's left side. I also felt it under the eye socket, which is sort of radiating there. It also made my eye very dry and gritty, with some pain there. So I wrote you some history and what has suddenly happened in the last few weeks. I have seen an oral maxillofacial surgeon who will do OPG (Orthopantomogram) with me next week, and I have asked him if he will remove the tooth as I feel this is best for me, but nobody can answer about these symptoms nobody gave antibiotics, and everyone says so because there is no visible swelling. Penicillin V did not work. I took some Clindamycin myself, and the tight raw, swollen throat sensation feels a bit better, but the eye problem is still there on that side. I am worrying that it is spreading or spreading through my lymphatic system. Or if it is like my glands just reacting to infection? No visible seen swollen glands. Based on this, what do you think? I am very nervous about it. I hope that if he removes the tooth, there will be no sinus perforation, the ligament will be fully removed, and the bone will be scraped and cleaned to prevent jaw or bone cavitation later. I am hoping these symptoms are related, but what do you feel it all is? I do not feel the tooth much because it is dead. Can you kindly let me know what you feel and what I should do next? I am worried it has spread throughout my lymphatic system or vessels. I look normal in the mirror. Warm regards.

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I thoroughly read your query and understand your concern.

I will be answering your query shortly.

Patient's Query

Hi doctor,

Thanks for coming back.

Yes, I am getting it extracted. I hope it would be fine and its ligament scraped all out. My concern is that my current symptoms are not how I felt with my sinus infection, and CBCT showed black and clear sinuses. My worry is because of this dead infected tooth, what if it is causing lymphatic spread? I am scared. How would I heal from that? The main symptom is the throat gets swollen tight (not visibly; I have been clinically examined) and develops saliva as if the body is trying to protect and fight off infection. Then the cheek pain is higher up on the dead infected tooth and goes up to my eye, causing pain and dry eye. I am scared it is spreading to the bone and up and around my entire face. I will get it extracted, but I am worried that these symptoms will not go once it is gone and that it has now spread through facial tissues, spaces, or the lymphatic system. How would I determine and with what scan? And how would I cure it? Or can it be inflammation from the infected tooth giving off sensations? Thanks for your help. Do you do video consults here?

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I thoroughly read your query and understand your concern.

See, the thing is, a tooth infection can cause a lymphatic spread, but not to the extent of directly causing trauma to the face or the eyes. That would be only because of sinus issues. Your lymph also will not be infected upward; rather, the lower lymphatics, like infections of lower teeth, tend to spread down into the neck. So the symptoms you are experiencing are of sinusitis, and tooth extraction is just the tip of eliminating some dental symptoms. You understand, right? I would suggest you chat with me here rather than on a video call so that I can have an uninterrupted and detailed chat about your doubts, symptoms, and any CBCT (cone-beam computed tomography) scan or reports you might have. I suggest you need to be referred to a maxillofacial surgeon. Tooth extraction is just one of the procedures to start. You might need nonsurgical antibiotic therapy to get your facial symptoms right. Do not worry about the lymphatic at all. Nothing to panic about. It will not spread that way as such.

Hope this has addressed your concern.

Kind regards.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Achanta Krishna Swaroop
Dr. Achanta Krishna Swaroop

Dentistry

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