Supernumerary ectopic tooth on the maxillary sinus

Nabil Touiheme, Abdelhamid Messary

PAMJ. 2014; 18:353. Published 31 Aug 2014 | doi:10.11604/pamj.2014.18.353.4912

A 23 year-old-woman was referred to point out for pain on the left side of her face and mucopurulent rhinorrhoea lasting for 07 months with long history of recurrent sinusitis. Antibiotics and pain-killers were prescribed to him in the first time. On examination of the oral cavity, all the permanent teeth were present. At nasal endoscopic examination we found a mucopus trickling from the left middle meatus.clinical diagnosis is for sinusitis of dental origin, fungal sinusitis or chronic rhinosinusitis Coronal computed tomography (CT) of the paranasal sinuses revealed the presence of a supernumerary molar tooth (Arrow) within left maxillary sinus floor (A). The tooth was extracted by traditional approach (Caldwell-Luc procedure) from the maxillary sinus under general anesthesia (B, C, D), and the patient has been asymptomatic for more than 02 years. The presence of ectopic or supernumerary tooth in the maxillary sinus is most often asymptomatic but on rare occasions can be a cause of recurrent sinusitis. The supernumerary ectopic tooth is a very rare condition, usually it's localized on the maxillary sinus, and other sites were described like nasal cavity or chin. Coronal computed tomography is sufficient to determine extract localization. The extraction can be made by conventional approach or by transnasal endoscopic approach with less morbidity.
Corresponding author
Nabil Touiheme, Department of ENT. Military Hospital Moulay Ismail, Morocco (nabilt74@yahoo.fr)


The Pan African Medical Journal (ISSN: 1937-8688) is a subsidiary of the Pan African Medical Journal. The contents of this journal is intended exclusively for professionals in the medical, paramedical and public health and other health sectors.

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