[Can dental problems have influence on difficulties in treating paranasal sinusitis in children?]

Paranasal sinusitis is a condition that is treated by a General Practitioner and in case it fails it requires specialistic therapy. In most cases the inflammation is connected with nasal mucosa infection. However, in older children and adolescents sinusitis caused by spreading of tooth and gingiva inflammatory process can be an essential therapeutic and diagnostic problem. It is most often connected with periapical lesions, complications following dental procedures and oroantral fistula inflammation. Inflammatory process originally concerns maxillary sinus, however, it often undergoes generalization and it affects all or most of sinuses unilaterally or bilaterally. In microbiology of odontogenic sinusitis the dominant bacteria are the bacteria typical for peridental lesions (Streptococcus sanguis, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus mutans and anaerobic bacteria). Odontogenic sinusitis frequently causes life threatening complications that require heroic drug and surgical treatment. Therapeutic and diagnostic problems are presented in case studies of 5 children aged from 10 to 17, who are treated in Children's Otolaryngology, Audiology and Phoniatrics Clinic in Łódź. There seems to be the need to emphasize the importance of thorough examination of oral cavity in all the children suffering from sinusitis, especially unilateral sinusitis. It is so essential on account of the gravity of the problem and serious complications that accompany the conditions.