Scottsdale Sinus and Allergy Center doctor: Inflammation of the sinuses can also cause facial, dental pain

If your face is hurting, the problem could actually be inflammation of the sinuses, says Dr. Brian Lee of Scottsdale Sinus and Allergy Center.

"Facial pain is is very common in chronic sinusitis," Lee said. "That essentially stems from the fact that the sinuses aren't draining or ventilating  properly. When the sinuses get inflamed, they swell shut and they trap air and mucus. As that sits and festers, some of that pressure starts to build up and the sinus headaches is what you feel."

Sinus problems could also cause dental pain, according to Lee.

"With our upper teeth, especially the molars, those roots abut and sometimes even encroach into our cheek or maxillary sinuses," he said. "When we start to get infections or inflammation in those cheek  sinuses, they start to irritate those nerve roots of those upper teeth. And that can actually feel like a toothache more than a typical sinus infection."

The way to treat chronic sinus issues is to "get all the old stuff out and to reestablish the normal sinus drainage to allow the nose and the sinuses to function properly," Lee explained. 

"A lot of what happens is that  people get sick, they get sick, they get  better, they go up and they go down, over and over and over again, and you start to build up scar tissue or chronic inflammatory tissue in  the sinuses," he said. "And that tends to narrow the natural drainage pathways of the sinuses."

One solution is balloon sinuplasty, a minimally invasive, in-office procedure that involves a catheter with a tiny balloon attached. The catheter is inserted into the sinus cavity and the balloon is slowly inflated to open the sinus passage. It is then deflated and removed.

"Reopening those drainage pathways allows the sinuses to drain properly in their natural form," Lee said.

Inflammation of the sinuses, also known as known as sinusitis,  blocks the air passageways, causing mucus to increase and potentially cause an infection, according to the American Sinus Institute. An estimated 37 million people in the U.S. suffer at least one episode of acute nasal inflammation each year.

There are four types of nasal inflammation: acute, sub-acute, chronic and recurrent.

"Acute nasal inflammation comes on very suddenly and includes pain that does not  go away after 10 to 14 days," the American Sinus Institute said. "The  acute type typically lasts four weeks or less. Chronic shares the same characteristics as the first two types and lasts eight weeks or longer. Recurrent inflammation consists of several repeated attacks, which happen within the time frame of one year."

Scottsdale Sinus and Allergy Center offers a free Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz for potential patients to review their symptoms.