I had a massive tooth infection and had a red streak all the way up to my eye. My dentist gave me some pretty strong antibiotics, they worked at first. I really was getting better, but just a couple of days after I stopped taking them, the infection flared up again. What do I do now? Those were supposed to be some of the strongest.
Kayla
Dear Kayla,
It sounds like there was a miscommunication between you and the dentist. If not, you need another dentist because the one you have doesn’t understand how tooth infections work. An antibiotic alone will not heal an infected tooth. This is just one of the reasons it is considered a dental emergency. A dentist has to physically get in there and remove the infected pulp.
Generally, there are two ways to do that: a root canal treatment or, if that is not possible, a tooth extraction. A root canal treatment is ideal because it saves your tooth. It is always better to keep as much natural tooth structure as possible.
The antibiotic is only a temporary solution to get the infection under control. He should have scheduled a follow-up visit with you to have the root canal treatment done. If he didn’t, call the office back and let them know what is happening. They need to get you in there right away. Hopefully, the tooth can be saved.
If the Tooth Cannot be Saved
There is a possibility if the infection was allowed to get too far, that you’ll have to extract the tooth. If that happens, you will want to replace the tooth. Otherwise, the adjacent teeth will begin to shift or tip into the open space, throwing off your bite. This can lead to complications such as TMJ.
To replace your tooth you can either have a dental implant placed, which will require some surgery, or a dental bridge. With a dental bridge, you have to crown the adjacent teeth.
This blog is brought to you by Parma Ridge Dentist Dr. Gecovich.