Management of cutaneous sinus tract of odontogenic origin: Eighteen months follow-up

An odontogenic cutaneous sinus tract is a pathologic canal that initiates in the oral cavity but opens externally at the cutaneous surface of the face or neck. It is frequently misdiagnosed, leading to inappropriate treatment. A 44-year-old female patient referred to us with a chronically draining lesion on his chin. The lesion previously was misdiagnosed by medical doctors and had undergone cryotherapy and surgery with a focus on the skin lesion and had received antibiotic therapy for a prolonged period of time. After clinical and radiologic examination the dental origin of the lesion was evident and proper endodontic treatment was performed followed by surgical treatment after the recurrence of pus discharge 2 weeks after the conventionnel root canal treatment. Five months later, after the treatment, the lesion showed an obvious healing. After 18 months, the patient was comfortable and a significant healing of the sinus tract was noted, the periapical radiograph shows clear regression of the periapical lesion and an improvement in bone trabeculation. The key to successful treatment of cutaneous sinus tract of dental origin must be appropriate communication between the dentist and the physician in order to achieve correct diagnosis and therapy in such cases.