[Ectopic teeth in the area of the paranasal sinuses]

Abstract

In contrast to dentogenious affections of the sinus maxillaris ectopic or supernumerary teeth in the paranasal sinuses are seldom. Ectopic teeth located at the ostium of the sinus maxillaris are rare, intranasal teeth are very rare and ectopic/supernumerary teeth in the sinus etmoidalis are a curiosity. We report about two patients with such ectopic teeth. A 55 year old woman had a rootless tooth in her right sinus ethmoidalis which had caused a "pseudopolyposis" with consecutive nasal airway obstruction and severe headache. A 59 year old man had ectopic teeth in both sinus maxillaris which obstructed the left ostium, causing dumbness of the left cheek and severe headache. Both patients have been cured by operation. However the presented patients demonstrate that even elaborated radiological efforts could not prove diagnosis. The etiology, diagnostical steps and treatment of these teeth are discussed. The surrounding soft tissue should be examined histologically after resection of such a tooth to prevent the development of a residual cyst and to notice the extremely rare development of malignancies deriving from the highly potential tissue of the dental follicle.