Over the last couple of years I’ve had problems with my teeth of the usual variety, but unusual for me. My dentist used to say he lost money on me because I only ever needed a cleaning, nothing special to bill for. That used to make me laugh. Right up until I did start making him some money…

A year ago, I needed to have a tooth capped. An annoyance more because it is located next to last at the upper back of my mouth, but it got done with a minimum of gagging and whining. I thought the problem was solved. Nope! Late last year I had to have a root canal in that tooth, but due to insurance not covering a new cap so soon, the dentist actually worked through the existing cap which took longer (four 2-hour visits over four weeks) and made me paranoid that something was going to go wrong with that procedure and they’d need to go back to do more work.

But everything was fine.

And then…

I woke up one morning with a familiar, vague pain in my jaw and I thought, oh no, I was grinding my teeth last night and popped my jaw out of place (it’s a thing I do now, who knew?). But my jaw wasn’t out of place, and the pain got worse and where was it? In what I started calling my problem tooth. The one that I shouldn’t have much feeling in because there had been a root canal performed.

Almost two days of interrupted sleep, ice packs, and Advil passed before I called the dentist. By that time, the pain had expanded to the lower back tooth, same side, and the combo made eating and talking painful enough that I was contemplating just saying “pull them all and I’ll live on applesauce and cream of wheat” but I got an appointment for two days later and a recommendation of gargling with warm salt water along with what I had already been doing. 

The next day my teeth hurt much less. The bottom one completely was fine.

By the time I arrived at the dentist’s office I had no pain. At all. I apologized for wasting their time, but the dentist wanted to make sure everything was actually fine and not masking a problem. After an x-ray (gag) and an exam (tap tap tap “does that hurt?” no) the dentist was as confused as I was because he couldn’t find anything wrong.

He asked me to go over everything again, every detail of my symptoms. And then he said, “Are you having sinus problems?”

“No. No stuffed up nose, no headache.”

“Because sinusitis can cause these symptoms, and that’s all I can think of since there are no physical causes that I can find. A fluid build-up can-”

And then it hit me. “I had to have my ear water-flushed last week.”

He smiled. “And that’ll do it.” He went on to explain that sinus problems, which can also come from water in the ears, can cause pain in your teeth, even make them feel loose, and just be an annoyance until the sinuses are clear. It’s called a sinusitis toothache, or referred pain.

My reaction was pretty much like this:

I had to ask, “I have allergies, which means I have sinus problems all of the time, so why is this suddenly a problem?”

“Well, you are getting older.”

Well, that’s true. There’s a lot that goes to hell as you age, but this thing with the sinuses and my teeth really threw me. Apparently, it’s not unusual, for everyone, not just me and my aging head.

The question of whether or not a sinus infection can cause a toothache was answered on the Mayo Clinic’s website with a definite yes. “Yes, a sinus infection (sinusitis) or inflammation can cause a toothache — specifically in the upper rear teeth, which are close to the sinuses. In fact, pain in the upper teeth is a fairly common symptom with sinus conditions,” is what Alan Carr, D.M.D. responded with.

Once I started googling the topic I discovered just how common it is, but often people don’t connect the two. Since the referred pain is most often felt in the upper teeth, I asked why I had felt pain in my bottom tooth. The dentist told me “it’s all connected” and showed me the x-ray taken. He said that sinuses run all around under the skin and near the teeth, and how, for me, that particular tooth has a root that intersects it. He was surprised that I couldn’t remember having a toothache along with sinus pressure or infections in the past, but then I figure I’ve dealt with allergies for so long (and the sinus pain) I might have just gotten used to it, so the pain was never bad enough until recently to take notice.

The simple remedy is a decongestant. Of course, since my problem was caused by the ear flushing (“it’s all connected”) it went away on its own, though I’d appreciate it not hanging about so long next time. Using a Neti Pot was also a suggestion to flush the sinuses.

Not my usual post, I know, but this was pretty interesting to me (and my father). The change in weather will inevitably leave me with a sinus infection by the end of September, so I thought this might be helpful to others who go through the same thing each year. Always, always consult a doctor when you have a question about your health, but I know I am going to be reaching for the Mucinex sooner rather than later to head off potential toothaches from now on!