Expert: Mark Bornfeld DDS - 1/9/2007

Question
I am a 43-year-old male, in good overall health.  A month ago I fell while running, causing a lacerated/gashed tongue and a chip at the edge of one of my front teeth.  The dentist looked at X-rays and applied bonding to the chipped tooth.  The bonded tooth still smarts from pain once in a while, while the tooth directly next to it (not otherwise damaged) still seems to be sensitive.  (I suspect it has changed color SLIGHTLY, but then I feel it is simply me being paranoid.)  The two middle front teeth also feel "tight" from time to time, sometimes as if "something mildly irritating is wedged between them".  It seems that there are small craze lines visible in one of the two middle front teeth – but this is getting me nervous.  The dentist told me to "wait six weeks".  However, after a month I am starting to get scared.  Is what is going on normal?

Secondly, about 10 days after the injury, I came down with a severe bout of common cold and sinus pressure, that had me totally congested for four days, particularly at night.  The sinus pressure persists until today, but has abated.  My primary care doctor said not to take antibiotics as he expected my immune system to fight the bug off, which is what seems to have happened.

My questions are as follows:

1)  Irrespective of whether the tooth problem caused the sinus bout or vice versa, has the sinus condition delayed the recovery of the teeth?

2)  Or is in fact the sinus condition a sign that something is wrong with the teeth?

Sorry for the amateur blather, but please help.

Answer
Dear Raj,

The condition of your sinus will not influence the recovery of your front teeth in any way.

Sinus pain can be confused with dental pain and vice versa, but seldom is pain originating in one any indication of the condition of the other. When sinus problems are related in any way to the teeth, it is only to those teeth that are closest to the sinus-- the upper premolars and molars. For diagnostic purposes, the front teeth and the paranasal sinuses can be considered separate, with nothing to do with each other.

Hope this helps...

Mark Bornfeld DDS
www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY