Duration

In over two thirds of all patients with sinusitis, the symptoms subside within two weeks. In some cases, the disease can last for more than six weeks, but after that 90% of all patients are symptom-free again. In a small percentage of cases, the acute disease turns into a chronic sinusitis, which in the worst case can last a lifetime.

Cause of toothache

The exact cause of toothache in sinusitis is not yet clear. It is seen in the irritation of the dental nerve responsible for the sensation of the teeth. This nerve runs near the upper paranasal sinus.

If the mucous membrane in the paranasal sinus is inflamed and thickened, the nerve may become irritated and become increasingly compressed as the swelling of the mucous membrane increases. The irritation develops far above the actual tooth. However, since the brain usually assigns stimuli transported by this nerve to one or more teeth of the upper jaw, this happens even if the tooth is not actually affected at all.

The affected person thinks he has a toothache, but the teeth are completely healthy. Depending on the intensity of the irritation, the pain can become so severe that an appropriate painkiller must be used. The character of the pain is described as biting and very unpleasant, but can also turn into a kind of knocking or throbbing.

Characteristically, the pain can also wander and have a pulling character. In the case of severe sinusitis, patients complain that the entire upper or lower jaw hurts. An exact localization to a specific tooth is not possible.

It should not be forgotten that sinusitis can but need not cause toothache, i.e. if the toothache occurs at the same time as a cold or sinusitis, it can still be caused by an inflammation of the roots of the tooth, the gums or by caries in one or more teeth. If the pain does not suddenly improve after the symptoms of the cold have subsided, the cause of the pain can be assumed to be dental. In this case a dentist should be consulted.

As a rule, people who have more sensitive dental nerves and have corresponding pain when they have a cold have already had the experience, so they usually know where the pain comes from. Also the chronological sequence is characteristic. First the cold begins, then the toothache begins with increasing sinusitis.

In reverse order, the symptoms disappear as the disease subsides. An attempt can also be made to test the sensitivity of the nerve by tapping it. If you tap with a small hammer in the mouth (at the transition between the upper and lower jaw), if the actual teeth are not the cause, you will experience increased pain in one or more teeth. The reason is the hypersensitivity of the dental nerve, which is also called neuralgia. If one of the teeth is to blame for the pain, the pain stimulus can usually not be triggered by a nerve tapping but only by tapping the tooth directly or by placing a cold pack on a suspicious tooth.