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Sinus Infection And Tooth Pain: What's The Connection?
Also Known as a "Sinus Toothache"
Medically reviewed by Brian T. Luong, DMDMedically reviewed by Brian T. Luong, DMD
A sinus infection, also known as sinusitis, is a condition in which mucus builds up within the sinuses, providing an ideal growing environment for bacteria and germs. A sinus infection can cause a series of symptoms, including tooth pain.
This article will discuss why a sinus infection causes tooth pain, other sinus infection symptoms, and treatment. It will also cover when to contact a healthcare provider.
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Anatomy of the SinusesSinuses are pockets or air-filled spaces in the skull. There are four types of sinuses, which are connected by small passages. Below is a list of each type and its location:
Maxillary sinuses: Under the eyes
Frontal sinuses: Above the eyes
Ethmoid sinuses: Between the nose and eyes
Sphenoid sinuses: Behind the nose and between the eyes
The sinuses are lined with cells that produce mucus to prevent them from drying out. The mucus helps to keep the nose and sinuses clear of bacteria and other germs to prevent illness.
Can a Sinus Infection Cause Tooth Pain?Yes, a sinus infection can cause tooth pain for two reasons.
The maxillary sinuses are located in the cheekbones, above the upper teeth. When these sinuses are inflamed from an infection, pain can be felt in the nearby teeth, usually the upper molars. The pain can worsen when bending over or changing head position.
Another reason a sinus infection causes tooth pain is from pressure on the nerves that go to the teeth.
Tooth pain caused by a tooth injury or decay is generally felt in only the affected tooth. Whereas, sinus infection tooth pain is felt in multiple teeth.
Can a Dental Infection Cause a Sinus Infection?A dental infection can cause a sinus infection. In fact, 40% of sinus infections are thought to have started as a dental infection.
A dental infection caused by tooth decay can cause a maxillary sinus infection, which is called maxillary sinusitis of dental origin (MSDO).
A tooth infection can lead to a sinus infection, which is called odontogenic sinusitis. The infection may stem from an abscess or trauma in the maxillary teeth. It will then spread from the teeth to the sinuses.
Sinus Toothache vs. Regular ToothacheA sinus toothache can be difficult to distinguish from other types of toothaches. One primary difference is that a sinus toothache will affect several teeth and generally affects the upper molars. This is due to the proximity of the maxillary sinuses' to the upper molars. Other symptoms of sinus infection will also accompany a sinus toothache.
Regular toothaches from tooth decay are typically felt only in the affected tooth. The pain tends to be described as sharp and may be precipitated by eating or drinking something cold or hot.
Other Symptoms of SinusitisSinusitis usually starts as a cold. Besides tooth pain, sinusitis can cause several symptoms. The symptoms of a sinus infection include:
How a Sinus Infection Is TreatedA sinus infection can be caused by bacteria or viral infection. Treatment often starts with home remedies that focus on clearing congestion and improving any discomfort.
Home RemediesMost of the time, sinus infections can be treated with at-home remedies. The remedies listed below are ways to help loosen up mucus and clear out the sinuses:
Medical TreatmentA healthcare provider may decide to treat a sinus infection with antibiotics. This is only used when the healthcare provider suspects that the underlying cause is a bacterial infection.
Antibiotics do not treat viral infections, which are the primary cause of sinus infections.
Sometimes, a healthcare provider may recommend delayed antibiotic prescribing or watchful waiting.
Delayed antibiotic prescribing is when the provider prescribes the antibiotic but suggests waiting two to three days before filling the prescription. This is to see if the person gets better and may not need antibiotics.
Watchful waiting is just as it sounds. Your healthcare provider will suggest waiting two to three days to determine if antibiotics are needed. This gives the body a couple of days to get better before prescribing an antibiotic.
How to Relieve Tooth Pain From Sinus PressureThere are several ways to help relieve tooth pain caused by sinus pressure. The primary goal should be to alleviate congestion in the sinuses, which can be done using the methods and treatments described above.
Another treatment option to reduce the pain is to take an OTC anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen. This will help reduce swelling and pain, which can minimize tooth pain.
How Long Does a Sinus Toothache Last?It is difficult to know how long a sinus toothache will last. An acute sinus infection can last anywhere from 10 days to eight weeks. A sinus toothache should go away when the sinus infection resolves.
When to Contact a Healthcare ProviderA sinus infection is generally not a serious medical condition. However, there are certain circumstances when someone should contact their healthcare provider.
Symptoms do not improve after 10 days
Fever for more than three to four days
Symptoms get better but then worsen
Severe symptoms like severe headaches or face pain
Several sinus infections within a year
A sinus infection can cause tooth pain when mucus builds up in the sinuses. This mucus buildup puts pressure on teeth and can press on nerves that go to the teeth. A sinus infection can be treated with home remedies like decongestants but may need to be treated with antibiotics prescribed by a healthcare provider.
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
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Could Putting Neosporin In Your Nose Fend Off COVID?
Could Putting Neosporin in Your Nose Fend Off COVID?
People may someday have a surprisingly familiar tool to prevent viral infections: one of the antibiotics found in a common ointment
A tube of Johnson & Johnson Neosporin brand antibiotic ointment.
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In the early days of COVID, some people wondered whether coating the insides of their nose with Neosporin might protect them from the frightening new virus.
That's surprising, given that the common ointment contains antibiotics, which target bacteria, not viruses. But the idea may have some merit, although scientists aren't ready to encourage anyone to start putting Neosporin in their nose. Early-stage work published in April in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA combines experiments in rodents with results from a preliminary test of the approach in a small number of humans and finds intriguing hints that the antibiotic may be revving up the body's innate immune system.
That said, the study was designed only to determine whether it's worth continuing to investigate this possible new use of an easily accessible over-the-counter drug. "This is a research study—it's not a clinical study, and it's certainly not intended for people to go out there and start using Neosporin every day," says Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University and a co-author of the new research. "It's just an initial pilot study."
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Iwasaki hadn't heard about the interest in nasal Neosporin early in the pandemic, but she is working to find new uses for widely available products, and the popular ointment fits that bill. Intriguingly, one of the three antibiotics it contains is neomycin, which is an aminoglycoside compound—a group of chemicals that she and other researchers had, in 2018, determined increased resistance to a range of viruses in mice.
When an aminoglycoside encounters a bacterium and acts as an antibiotic, the compound interferes with the microbe's ability to make proteins. But that's not how Neosporin might fight off viruses. Instead neomycin appears to rev up the innate immune system in this case. That system recognizes foreign substances in general, in contrast to the adaptive immune system, which recognizes and attacks specific foreign materials it has encountered before.
Specifically, neomycin appears to trigger the expression of what scientists call interferon-stimulated genes: a set of hundreds of genes—perhaps even one tenth of a human's genes—that appear to play a role in the innate immune system. During an infection, the body produces a compound called interferon that binds to these genes and dials up the innate immune system. Neomycin appears to accomplish the same result, although the scientists aren't sure exactly how. "It's basically tricking the host into thinking there's a viral infection and inducing these protective genes," Iwasaki says.
In the new research, she and her colleagues tested neomycin in a handful of different experiments. In one, they treated mice nasally with concentrated neomycin, then gave them the virus that causes COVID (also via a nasal route). Treated mice lost less weight and were less likely to die from the infection. In a separate experiment, the researchers gave already infected mice neomycin, and the effect was similar. The findings suggest that neomycin both protected the mice from infection and helped them fight it off.
While much of the work was conducted on rodents, the researchers did ask a dozen healthy people to apply Neosporin—which contains a much lower dose of neomycin than the experiments in rodents used—in their nose twice a day for one week and compared them with seven people who used Vaseline—a topical ointment with no neomycin in it. The researchers measured the activity, or expression, of five different interferon-stimulated genes (and one immunoregulatory gene affected by interferon-stimulated gene activity) in each person. They found that even several days after Neosporin administration ended, the people who used it showed higher levels of gene expression, suggesting a stronger immune response. The results were intriguing enough that Iwasaki hopes to conduct more tests on the approach—including testing higher doses of neomycin than are present in Neosporin—in the future.
As Iwasaki's own previous work and research by other scientists suggests, neomycin's ability to boost interferon-stimulated genes isn't unique. "There are lots of ways to reach the same end point," says Stanley Perlman, a viral immunologist at the University of Iowa, who was not involved in the new research. For example, multiple different forms of interferon itself are already in clinical trials for treatment of early-stage COVID. But Perlman notes that a neomycin ointment may be easier to apply than interferon compounds, some of which are administered by injection under the skin; neomycin may also have gentler side effects.
That said, Perlman does see some risks with the new approach. Dermatologists have encouraged people to move away from using Neosporin to treat wounds, as it can often cause allergic reactions. He's also concerned about whether regular use of an antibiotic could eventually trigger resistance in harmful bacteria that live in the nose.
Even if the substance was pretty benign, "if you used it for long periods of time, I don't know what it would do," Perlman says. "[If you] put an antibiotic in the nose for a long period of time, you'll clear out the bacteria, and with time, I think you'll get bacteria growing there that you don't want—that's certainly a possibility."
Both he and Iwasaki say that the ideal times to use a technique such as this would be limited. "I think, for me, I would do it for a high-risk exposure," Perlman says. For example, he said he would use it if there were a pandemic virus circulating that he had no immunity to and he was in a crowded setting such as a train or an airplane. Or it could be an added tool for those at particularly high risk from even more standard exposures, such as immunocompromised people, Iwasaki suggests. Either way, it wouldn't mark the end of viral infections—it would just be one more tool to reduce their impact.
"We still need people to [get vaccinated] and wear masks," Iwasaki says. "We're just thinking of another layer."
Can You Get Addicted To Nasal Spray?
If you routinely reach for nasal spray to unclog your stuffy nose, you may start to wonder if the product you once relied on to deliver relief is actually doing the opposite.
Many nasal spray users have experienced this phenomenon, known as rebound congestion, which health experts say can occur with routine use of certain — not all — types of nasal sprays. It's estimated that up to 9 percent of patients visiting ear, nose and throat specialists (ENTs) have rebound congestion, though research suggests the condition may actually be more common given the number of over-the-counter nasal sprays that are so readily available.
It typically occurs as a result of overuse or prolonged use of nasal decongestant sprays that contain the ingredients oxymetazoline or phenylephrine, says Nicholas Rowan, M.D., a rhinologist and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Department of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery.
"These medications work by constricting blood vessels in the nasal passages, providing immediate relief from nasal congestion and blockage," Rowan says. "With prolonged use, however, the nasal passages can become tolerant to the medication's effects. As the body becomes tolerant, it requires higher doses to achieve the same level of relief."
This need for more is not an addiction by definition — that would imply the nasal sprays cause functional changes to the pleasure-reward circuits in the brain. But overusing certain sprays can create a physical dependence.
Here's what you need to know.
Nasal decongestant sprays and rebound congestionIf the flu, a sinus infection or the common cold is to blame for your stuffed-up nose, a nasal decongestant spray can help unstuff it by shrinking blood vessels in the nasal passages, making it easier for you to breathe. However, if you use a decongestant spray for more than three days in a row, it's no longer able to do its job.
Worse, when you stop using it, your nasal passages begin to swell again, which is like a calling card for your congestion to return, prompting you to reach for the nasal spray.
"Prolonged use of nasal decongestant sprays can cause the blood vessels in the nasal passages to become increasingly sensitive and reactive," Rowan says. "When the medication wears off, the blood vessels dilate, leading to even more severe nasal congestion than before, perpetuating a cycle of dependency on the decongestant."
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