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FAQ: Abcess

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Question:
My husband had an abscessed tooth pulled several months ago. The dentist did not give him any antibiotics. A few months later he's having surgery to drain an abscess that has formed on his brain. The doctors are all puzzled because he was in perfect health.

They say that generally an abscess that forms on the brain comes from a severe ear infection or sinus infection. He has had neither. They ran tests on the sample that they saved from the drainage and found 4 types of bacteria all that are commonly found in the mouth.

They say that they are not 100% sure that it came from the tooth but it is the only explanation they have to offer because he is a very healthy 36 year old man who has never had ear or sinus infections. Can this really happen? If so, where can I learn more about it?

Answer:
Yes, tell your doctor it can happen by way of the cavernous sinus transmission...but only if it resulted from an upper tooth, like a cuspid or premolar. Any anatomy book can show this. It is as rare as winning the lotto, but it happens.

Talk to an ENT surgeon and oral surgeon to get to the proper diagnosis and find the path from the tooth, to the sinus, possibly to the eye orbit, and finally to the brain area. Also make sure to get TMj x-rays to rule out any possibility of a fracture in the glenoid fossa.

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