A 58-year-old man in the UK thought he had chronic sinusitis. In reality, a botched tooth extraction had left a piece of tooth in his sinuses.
- A 58-year-old British man had been suffering from chronic sinusitis for two years.
- In reality, a piece of tooth was stuck in his sinus from a botched dental operation, which caused his ENT symptoms.
- A new operation was performed to remove the piece of tooth from his sinus.
Mark Shire had been struggling to breathe and in pain on a daily basis for two years. The Englishman suffered from chronic sinusitis. The condition made it difficult for him to sleep and work due to his difficulty breathing and associated sleep disturbances. “In January 2022, I went to a doctor’s office for sinus pain and congestion.“, he says in an article published in Daily Mail. Against all expectations, he discovers that his pain is linked to his teeth.
Persistent pain after dental surgery
Two years ago, he underwent dental surgery to remove two teeth, located on the left side of his mouth. After that, he experienced persistent pain and his gums would not heal.I knew something was wrong because my dentist had a lot of difficulty extracting the teeth.“, he continues in the British daily. In 2021, he returned to the dentist’s office to get a medical opinion on his pain. “Despite several courses of antibiotics, I had thick, foul-smelling green mucus coming out of the left side of my nose and into my throat, facial pain on the left side, and headaches on the left side..”
Chronic sinusitis: a piece of tooth was stuck in a sinus
The 58-year-old man thought he was suffering from chronic sinusitis.Sinusitis made me feel like I had a permanent cold, he explains. My blocked nose made it difficult to breathe and I always had a horrible taste in my mouth from the pus that was draining. I often had trouble sleeping and sometimes couldn’t go to work because of the very intense headaches.”
In June 2022, Mark Shire was admitted to hospital due to his sinus pain. A CT scan revealed the cause of his sinusitis: a piece of tooth was embedded in his sinus. This piece of tooth was the result of his tooth extraction, which he had performed two years earlier. In May 2023, an operation under general anaesthetic removed the piece of tooth from his sinus.I had to take two weeks off work to recover, he specifies. After that my sinus problems were gone and healed.”
Tests showed that the tooth extraction caused a fracture of the tooth, which was pushed into the sinus.”This whole experience was very scary, estimates the fifty-year-old. I’m so lucky that the piece was finally recovered, and I never thought it would all be down to a tooth extraction.”
What is chronic sinusitis?
Chronic sinusitis is usually caused by an infection, such as a cold. Sometimes it lasts for several months and manifests itself as a stuffy nose, impaired sense of smell, runny nose, headaches and even toothache. As theUniversity Institute of the Face and Neckmost of the time, treatment does not cure sinusitis, but reduces the symptoms. It is based on nasal washes with salt water and the use of nasal corticosteroids.
