Background: The treatment options for odontogenic sinusitis (OS) include medical management including antibiotics and saline nasal irrigation, endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), and dental treatment.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether OS caused by dental caries and periapical abscess can be cured by dental treatment alone and which patients should consider surgery early.
Methods: A total of 33 patients with OS caused by dental caries and periapical abscess were enrolled. Patients with OS caused by dental implants, trauma, surgery, or tooth extraction were excluded. All patients were initially treated with dental treatment and medical management without ESS. The patients were divided into two groups according to the results of dental treatment and multiple clinical parameters were compared between the two groups.
Results: Among the 33 enrolled patients, 22 patients (67%) were cured with dental and medical management, and 11 patients (33%) required ESS after the failure of dental and medical management. Based on the multivariate analysis results, patients who were smokers (OR 33.4) and had a higher Lund-Mackay score on CT (OR 2.0) required ESS after the failure of dental and medical treatment.
Conclusions: Two-thirds of the patients with OS caused by dental caries and periapical abscess were cured with dental treatment and medical management without ESS. We recommend dental treatment and medical management first in OS caused by dental caries and periapical abscess. However, we recommend early ESS in patients with smoking habits and severe CT findings of the sinus.
Keywords: chronic rhinosinusitis; dental caries; dental infection; dental sinusitis; dental treatment; endoscopic sinus surgery; odontogenic; odontogenic sinusitis; periapical abscess; sinusitis.