I had a pretty bad toothache. It got to the point where I really needed to see a dentist. He told me it was infected and gave me some antibiotic. That seems to have cleared things up and it doesn’t hurt anymore. He wanted me to come back and get a root canal treatment. If it doesn’t hurt anymore, do I need to bother going back?
Lucas
Dear Lucas,
You absolutely want to to back. The fact that it isn’t hurting right now does not mean that the infection is cured. It just means that it is holding it at bay. As soon as your antibiotics run out, then your infection will flare back up again. The only way to really get rid of the infection in a tooth is for your dentist to physically remove the infected pulp.
There are two ways for him or her to do this. First, it can be done by a root canal treatment. This is the first choice because it will save your tooth. If the tooth is too far gone to be saved, then you are left with the second option, which is to extract and replace the tooth.
It is important that you do replace the tooth that you extract. If you leave it empty, then the adjacent teeth will eventually shift or tip into that space. That throws off your bite. This will lead to your having jaw pain and headaches. There are a lot of tooth replacement options. The one that is the closest to having a healthy natural tooth in your mouth is a dental implant.
Hopefully, the tooth can be saved, but I’d get back and get treatment before it starts hurting again. You don’t want your tooth infection to spread.
This blog is brought to you by a gentle dentist in Parma Ridge, Dr. Rebecca Gecovich.