I’ve been fighting a head cold or a toothache for a while now and I’m still not sure which it is. I don’t have insurance, so an emergency dentist or going to the doctor is really not an option. I’ve been on Sudafed and ibuprofen for a couple weeks now and they were providing me with some relief, but it never really got better. Today it seems to have settled in my eye tooth and it really hurts. Can my sinuses affect how my teeth feel? What home remedy works for this, so I can avoid a visit to the emergency dentist? — Matthew
Dear Matthew,
Yes, your sinuses can cause tooth pain. When everything on the inside gets backed up and plugged, pressure builds and can seem to settle in on a tooth, just like you described. A lot of the time, though, people have a hard time pinpointing a single tooth. Instead, their entire arch hurts, or a group of teeth ache. With that said, if you were fighting a sinus issue, Sudafed probably should have taken care of it for you, so it’s very possible you’re fighting something more serious.
When your sinus pressure gets so bad that it causes pain, there’s a good chance you’ve ether developed a sinus infection, or the stage has been set for one. The only way to take care of this is to get on a stronger decongestant and, if need be, an antibiotic.
There’s also a chance that you’re fighting an infection in your tooth. Just a few years ago, a young man in Ohio died because he was uninsured and only filled his pain prescription from the hospital. Recently, another man avoided the emergency dentist and hospital, thinking he only had a cold, and he passed away as well. Although we live in an age where medicine can almost instantaneously cure common issues, infections that start off as toothaches can rapidly spread through a person’s body and kill them.
Please, call the emergency dentist right away and get scheduled. If you’re uninsured or tight on cash, ask them if they’ll accept payments or can provide some kind of cash-pay discount. Don’t play around with home remedies, because your illness could turn serious, if not deadly, very quickly.
This blog post is brought to you by Des Moines cosmetic dentist, Dr. Phelan Thomas. For more information on the services he provides, please visit his Des Moines cosmetic dentist website.