Extraoral Sinus Tract.
Diagnosis May 3rd, 2006
This patient was bounced from her family physician to a dermatologist who, over the course of a couple of years, repeatedly cauterized this recurring pimple (probably thinking it was a sebaceous cyst or something similar). The patient finally ended up at a dental office where they found that the source was a tooth abscess.
This picture shows the tracer pointing to the apex of a tooth. Both the canine and lateral incisor were probable sources of infection, so the root canal was redone in the canine and a root canal was done in the lateral incisor.
This is the post op film. No recall pictures yet but the chin has healed with a little scarred dimple.
May 3rd, 2006 at 2:09 pm
THAT is crazy – insane!
March 26th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I had to read this post with one eye closed but by golly I read it. The last photo (the post op film) freaked me out a litle at first glance because it looks like there is an eye near the top right corner!! On top of a tooth! I was about to run away from my computer and then I realised there couldn’t be an eye there, and even if there was… it wouldn’t show up in an xray! Whew!
fragileheart’s last blog post..It’s like a trainwreck, you want to away but you just can’t!
March 26th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
You’re pretty brave to have survived the post! The “eye” is what we dentists call the “bubble” on our xray films. It helps us to know which side of the xray is the correct side to look at. Other than that there’s no consistency as to whether it should be towards the tips of the roots or towards the biting surfaces. I prefer the biting surfaces. How about you?
I think the best part of the post is the pus that’s oozing out from the chin where I stuck the tracer in. Good thing I didn’t forget the tracer in there when she left.
January 21st, 2010 at 5:19 am
Useful and helpful information.