tooth infection Archives - Parma Ridge Family Dental

My Cheek is Swollen and I Have No Money

Posted on January 28, 2026 by writeradmin.

I have a tooth which has been bothering me for a while. The problem I have is that I do not have a job right now. I have been trying to clean houses to earn some money, but I don’t own a car so it’s hard to be an independent contractor that way. This morning, I woke up and my right cheek is swollen. What do I do? My friends told me that dentists in our area insist patients pay up front, but I have no money. Should I be worried about the swelling in my cheek? Do you have any way I can treat this at home?

Allison

Dear Allison,

First, I’m sorry for all you are going through. It’s a lot. With the swelling in your jaw, it means that you have a dental emergency. You will need treatment. I understand you are in a tough spot. While it is true that most dentists require patients to pay up front, you still have a couple of options.

First, there are charity dental clinics in most cities. Even small cities will usually have one. Mid and larger cities will have quite a few of them. Be aware that charity clinics will usually do the least expensive option. In the case of a tooth infection, which you have, they would extract your tooth because that would cost less.

Ideally, if it was still possible to save your tooth, you would want a root canal treatment instead. One thing you could try is to call around to dentists who advertise as an affordable dentist. Sometimes they are willing to treat patients with a dental emergency in order to get them out of danger and then allow them to pay it out in stages.

It will take you making a bunch of phone calls but you are likely to find someone who will work with you. On the off chance you absolutely can’t, then you will be able to find a charity which is willing to help.

This blog is brought to you by Parma Dentist Dr. Rebecca Gecovich.

Dentist Caused a Worse Problem

Posted on July 3, 2025 by writeradmin.

My husband had a tooth infection. We went to see the dentist who started a root canal treatment. She gave him some antibiotics that lasted about five days. A few days after that she finished up the treatment by closing the area and placing a dental crown, even though he was still in pain. A few weeks later, his pain grew worse and the side of his face was completely swollen. He went to the hospital and they told him the tooth is still infected. How did that happen?

Dani

Dear Dani,

The problem I see is the way your husband’s dentist made use of the antibiotics. There is nothing wrong with using antibiotics to help with a tooth infection on two conditions. First, they must not be used in isolation. They cannot cure a tooth infection. You either need a successful root canal treatment or a tooth extraction.

Second, they have to be used properly. What that means is that the tooth is not closed up until the infection is gone. Your husband still had an infection when they closed the tooth. I know that because he was still in pain when the crown was placed. What needed to happen was the antibiotics continued and for the dentist to make certain that the infection was truly dealt with before discontinuing them and placing the crown.

The way his was handled essentially trapped the infection back in the tooth. Now it has spread outside of the jaw and his cheek is swollen. I would consider this a dental emergency. He needs a retreatment and soon. You don’t want the infection to continue to spread and become life-threatening.

You can either have his dentist redo it, but make sure the infection is gone this time, or you can go to another dentist and have them treat his tooth infection.

This blog is brought to you by Parma Dentist Dr. Rebecca Gecovich.

What To Do When a Dentist Causes the Problem

Posted on May 23, 2025 by writeradmin.

I had a tooth that stuck out a bit. I never had braces growing up. My dentist suggested we put a crown on the tooth so that we can make that tooth look straight. I agreed. When the crown was first done, there was sensitivity to the hot and cold. The dentist told me this was normal for the first few weeks. Eventually, my cheek swelled up. I went to the ER and they told me that I had a tooth infection and needed to see a dentist. I went to a different dentist because I was losing faith in my current one. This dentist confirmed the tooth was infected and told me she believes it happened because my dental crown has open margins which allowed for food debris to get in there. She even showed it to me on an x-ray. I’ve spent a fortune dealing with this and had to replace this crown with another, plus get a root canal treatment from the tooth infection. I called my dentist asking for a refund on the part I’d already paid, which is about half. They told me the infection was my own fault for not caring for my teeth and not only will they not give me a refund but they expect me to pay the rest of the bill or they’ll take me to collections. What do I do?

Ellie

Dear Ellie,

I am so sorry this has happened to you. Take what I’m saying with the understanding that I have not examined you and am basing this just on the description you gave. It sounds like your dentist is at fault here by violating the standard of care, which led to you having a dental emergency. One thing that is imperative a dentist do after placing a dental crown is to run an explorer around the margins to make sure they are properly closed. Based on what you’ve described your dentist either skipped that or didn’t want to admit their was a problem with his work.

The good news is you have an x-ray that shows the open margins. I would start by telling them that and see if the second dentist would be willing to help you get a refund from them. Sometimes a dentist will be more willing to listen to a peer than a patient. If that doesn’t work, you can threaten to go to the dental board. He won’t want that. You could also ask a lawyer to write a threatening letter for you. Sometimes the threat of a lawsuit is all that is needed.

This blog is brought to you by Parma Ridge Dentist Dr. Rebecca Gecovich.
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Allergies to Dental Materials

Posted on May 3, 2024 by writeradmin.

I have taken some tests for allergies and sensitivities, including the TILT test. I know I have allergies to dental cement, formaldehyde, cobalt, chromium, titanium, and many chemicals. I’m having trouble getting a dentist to work around my allergies. Plus, I have an additional problem. Several years ago, I had a root canal treatment where the file was broken. The endodontist tried to get it from the top, but ended up having to go in from underneath and cutting. It felt wrong ever since then. I went to see a dentist, who said I have an infection. I just want to have it pulled at this point, then get it cultured to find out what type of infection it is so I can get the right antibiotic. However, I need a dental who is familiar with Type IV metal allergies. Do you know of anyone with that type of experience that can help me?

Erica

Dear Erica,

You are in a tough position. In fact, you are the first titanium allergy I’ve ever heard of. I don’t think you’ll actually need someone with expertise in Type IV metal allergies. What you will need is a dentist willing to work around your allergies. Often patients who’ve had what are known as Clifford tests will come in with a list of things they were either allergic or sensitive to. Many dentists won’t pay attention to this and find the tests controversial. However, there are some dentists that are more likely to take you seriously and work with you around those limitations. I would call around to a holistic dentists.

Once that tooth is pulled, you will want to replace it. The best tooth replacement is a dental implant. Given your sensitivity to titanium, you will need a dentist who is willing to provide you with a zirconia implant.

This blog is brought to you by Parma Ridge Dentist Dr. Rebecca Gecovich.

Should She Trust This Dentist?

Posted on March 15, 2022 by writeradmin.

For the last two weeks, I have been having pain that comes and goes on the left side of my mouth. I finally called a dentist. I haven’t been to a dentist in my new city yet because I have been so busy, so I just had to take the one who’d see me first. He did an x-ray and told me I have a cavity on a tooth that already has a filling. He told me that only about 10% of the tooth is viable, so while he can try to save it, he really thinks he’ll have to extract it and do a dental implant to replace it. I feel really weird about this. I know he is the dentist but this seems so extreme compared to other treatments I’ve had with my old dentist. For some reason, I feel like he can’t be trusted. Should I get a second opinion or am I overreacting?

Katie

Dear Katie,

No, I do not think you are overreacting. There are a couple of things that bother me about this. If you had such a serious infection, it would have been hurting much further back than two weeks.

Second, decay that extensive would not require an x-ray to see. You’d have been able to see it yourself in a mirror. It is also likely that the filling you already had would fall into the decay in your tooth.

So, yes, I want you to get a second opinion about this tooth. When you do, make sure it is a blind second opinion. By that, I mean do not tell the dentist who you saw or what the diagnosis was. Just tell him or her you’ve been having intermittent pain and see what they say. If it is truly as bad as the first dentist said, then they will let you know that you have a dental emergency on your hands.

This blog is brought to you by Parma Ridge Dentist Dr. Gecovich.