If you have suffered from a Sinus infection caused by Sinus pressure, you can tell how painful they can be. In this article, you’ll be learning how sinus pressure can cause tooth pain, how to know if your pain is caused by sinus pressure, sinus pressure relief, and when it’s necessary to see a dentist.
What Is Sinus Pressure?
First off, we would be identifying the sinuses to be more familiar with the topic. The sinuses are found in the facial bones close to your forehead, eyes, and cheekbones. They are four in number and responsible for filtering the air that passes through your nostrils and keeping the air in your nasal cavity warm and moist. The four sinuses are listed below.
- The first sinus, called the frontal sinus, is at the forehead’s lower center.
- The second one is known as the ethmoid sinus and is located in between your eyes.
- The third sinus, called the Maxillary sinus, is held by the cheekbones.
- While the sphenoid sinus is located behind the nose.
All the sinuses are held together by a soft, pink tissue called the mucus.
Now that you know where the sinuses are located, you can easily understand what sinus pressure is. Sinus pressure occurs when any of the sinuses become infected or inflamed. This condition is also known as sinusitis.
Specifically, the maxillary sinus causes tooth pain because they are located in the cheekbones, close to the upper jaw, and by extension, your upper teeth. Because the Maxillary sinus is situated very close to the roots of your upper teeth, they tend to swell, causing pressurization and pain. In other words, the swelling puts a significant amount of pressure on your teeth’ roots, resulting in pain.
Why Does It Cause Tooth Pain?
Sinus pressure causes tooth pain because the roots of your upper teeth and jawbone are near your sinuses. Sometimes the discomfort or pain spreads to your lower teeth as well.
When they become aggravated, the tissue that lines your sinus cavities can become blocked by fluid. This ultimately leads to congestion and pressure that often causes toothache simply because your sinus cavities share the same confined space with the roots of your upper teeth.
How To Identify A Toothache vs Sinus Pressure?
Do you know that sinus pressure can cause symptoms that look closely like normal tooth pain? Most of the signs and symptoms of toothache apply to sinus pressure as well. For instance, having sensitive teeth is a symptom of both toothache and sinus pressure. A sinus infection pain can much feel like pain from abscesses or cavities. This is why it’s important to know how to differentiate between the two.
First, pain from sinus pressure is mainly felt in the upper teeth (molars), and it affects a couple of teeth instead of just one (tooth). If you’re experiencing pain in the upper molar and have some of the symptoms listed below, your toothache is likely due to a sinus infection. Getting mouth inflammation depends on the amount of pressure on the teeth. You may also experience a dry mouth, develop a fever, and feel tired.
Besides, certain positions or movements can intensify pain from sinus pressure. Activities like bending over or jumping can worsen the pain. On the other hand, lying down or sitting down gently can ease the pain. This is because these types of movements cause the pressure to shift, and you feel it in your teeth as you move (so, it’s crucial avoiding those positions and movements to make possible sinus pressure in teeth relief).
6 Best Ways To Relieve Sinus Tooth Pain
If you’re experiencing pain from sinus pressure, know that you are not alone! According to ACAAI (American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology), over thirty million people in the United States get them. It is the most common reason people visit the doctor every year, but do you know how to relieve sinus pressure? Here are eight effective ways:
1. Use an Expectorant
One practical way to relieve sinus infection tooth pain is to drain all the mucus to reduce the pressure in your sinuses drastically. You can use OTC (over-the-counter) drugs like expectorants or decongestants to provide sinus pain relief. These drugs promote the decongestion and removal of mucus from the nasal cavity, relieving the pressure.
When looking for how to relieve sinus pressure, it’s advisable to go for a nasal expectorant for fast relief. Ensure to go over instructions for how to use. If your symptoms persist after three days, it’s recommended to see a doctor immediately.
2. Eat Spicy Foods
Another way to relieve pain from sinus pressure is to eat spicy foods. You can stock up foods that contain Chili, Jalapeno pepper, or horseradish. However, you should know that not all spicy food may relieve sinus pressure, so we advise you stick to the three mentioned here since they contain mucus-thinning properties that can help clear the pressure and ease the pain. In any case, you should also consult with your doctor before trying these foods out, especially if you’re not used to spicy foods.
3. Position Your Head for the Best Drainage
When resting or sleeping during the day or at night, keep your head in a propped, tilted position to relieve the pressure and pain. Avoid lying down horizontally or with your head lower than the rest of your body. This can mount more pressure and cause more blockage. So, it’s better to support your upper body in a propped position.
4. Use a product designed for sensitive teeth
It’s hard to maintain good oral care with tooth pain, but you have to prevent further complications. Always use a product designed for sensitive teeth to brush the area gently (similarly like you would do to take care of wisdom teeth swelling). Make sure not to brush too hard. That way, you can avoid stressing the teeth further.
5. Use warm water compress on your face several times daily
A good sinus tooth pain relief tip is using a towel and warm water or a hot water bottle and place it on your face as often as you can. Also, try to breathe in the steam of the warm water to open up your nasal passages. Once you’re done with the warm compress, followed by a cold one to help reduce the sinus pain.
6. Increase your fluid intake
It’s recommended to increase your fluid intake and stay off alcohol and caffeinated drinks. Instead, take water and drink warm and spicy liquids like ginger tea. Probably, this is one of the best ways to relieve sinus pressure in teeth as these things help out as a means of thinning the mucus produced from your sinus infection. Also, drink fluids more than you eat solids to reduce the sinus pressure.
Is It Necessary To Go To The Dentist When Feeling Sinus Pressure?
If you aren’t too sure of the primary cause of your toothache, it’s best to visit your dentist. It is also best to go to the doctor if the symptoms persist if you don’t experience sinus pressure relief after using expectorants and other prescribed drugs. The dentist will check to see the cause of the pain by x-raying the teeth to check for abscesses and cavities. If the teeth in question look healthy and do not show any signs of dental infections/problems, you most likely have sinus pressure or infection.
FAQ
During pregnancy, you have to be extremely careful when deciding which medications to take. When dealing with sinus pressure while pregnant, the safest treatments to relieve sinus pressure while pregnant are the following: oral decongestants, antihistamines, ibuprofen, or expectorants, all of them in low dosages.
However, even though sinus pressure can’t affect the fetus directly, it can lead to complications, so if you experience any type of discomfort related to it, first, contact your doctor.
Yes, you can. If you are experiencing intense sinus pressure, you can feel pain in your gums and other areas of your mouth as well as experience sinus pressure in teeth.
Yes, it can cause jaw pain if you are suffering from a sinus infection. It is not as normal as tooth pain or even discomfort in your gums, but if it is infected, you can experience that type of pain.
If you consulted your doctor and followed their instruction, but the pain hasn’t gone away, maybe you are suffering from a chronic infection. If after 12 weeks you still suffer from that pain, the best thing to do is to go to your doctor to see how to stop that infection.
As when we sleep we lay down, that helps our blood to circulate better to our head, and consequently, to our brain. That blood circulation to the brain, as it is constant for 8 hours or so, induces sinus congestion to get worse (or even lead to it if you haven’t suffered from it yet).
