'Intranasal toothache': case report

Abstract

Objective: This paper describes a patient with recurrent unilateral nasal discomfort and pain due to an intranasal tooth. A short overview of the literature is provided in relation to the aetiology, symptomatology, diagnosis and treatment of intranasal teeth.

Case report: A 26-year-old man was referred with a history of recurrent left-sided nasal obstruction, facial pain and discomfort, and chronic purulent rhinorrhoea. Computed tomography revealed a nasal tooth, which was likely to have been the cause of these symptoms. After transnasal surgical extraction under endoscopic guidance, the patient was relieved of his complaints (at the one-year follow up).

Conclusion: An ectopic tooth in the nasal cavity is a rare phenomenon, and in most cases the cause of an intranasal tooth remains unclear. The treatment of an intranasal tooth entails surgical extraction even though such teeth may remain asymptomatic; several cases have illustrated the potential significant morbidity associated with their occurrence.