Your leading source for cosmetic dentistry
information and referrals.

I can’t afford to have my infected wisdom tooth removed.

Posted on by .

Dr. Hall,
Have a rotting and decaying wisdom tooth, that is causing sever throbbing and pain. the Surrounding teeth are also starting to decay, some already have holes in them. Ive started to get a minor pressure just to the side and below of my eyebrow, right along my left cheek bone closer to my ear. Should I rush to the ER or just get antibiotics and have it handled by a dentist when its affordable?
– Eric from Alberta

Eric,
A very bad idea to try to get by or to try to just take some antibiotics.

There’s a story from about three years ago where a boy died from a tooth abscess. I wouldn’t trifle with an infected wisdom tooth. It’s swelling around your eye now. What if this infection spreads to your brain? What will you do then?

Scrape together the money and get this wisdom tooth extracted. If you try to get by with antibiotics, there is no way to heal an abscessed tooth with antibiotics because they can’t reach the source of the infection. So what ends up happening is you tamp down the infection for a short period, and then it comes back, and this time the bacteria are resistant to the antibiotic. It can really make a mess of things. You’ll probably need some antibiotics to get the infection somewhat under control, and then get the tooth extracted while you are in the middle of the antibiotic treatment. That will usually cure you.

Dr. Hall

We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.

About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

Should I take antibiotics for my tooth infection?

Posted on by .

Dr. Hall,
i had a root canal about 4 years ago. then i lost my job and never had the cap or filling put in so i have been using store bought filling all this time well i let it go fwith out the filling for a few days and now i thinl i have some kind of infection. what anti biotics do i need to get rid of the infection. before i go to the dentist and get the tooth exstracted
Rich in Arizona

Rich,
Don’t take any antibiotics until you see the dentist. You may or may not need antibiotics for your tooth infection.

When a tooth is extracted, that usually removes the entire source of the infection and it will just go away.

Antibiotics are very helpful, but when used excessively they will breed bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotics and so they can complicate treatment if not used properly.
Dr. Hall

We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.

About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

I have an infected tooth and no money

Posted on by .

I am missing some teeth in the back part of my mouth. I now have an infection so bad and my cheek is swollen so much that I look like I have a golf ball in my mouth. I do not have medical or dental  insurance and I do not have a job so I wanted to know what I can do to treat the infection. Thank you for any help you can give.
– Rachel from Michigan

Rachel,
You’re in kind of a tough spot. But before I tell you what to do, let me tell you what NOT to do. Don’t take antibiotics to try to get rid of the infection unless you also have the tooth treated. And here is why. The infection you have is inside some tooth. Antibiotics cannot get to the inside of a tooth. So what happens if you try to get rid of the infection with antibiotics alone is that you attack the infection, but there is no way you can get rid of it, so you are helping the bacteria that survive develop resistance to the antibiotic. Then, when it comes back, you could be facing a situation where NOTHING will get rid of the infection–potentially a very serious situation.

Tooth infections are nothing to fool around with. They can spread to your brain and cause a brain infection, or they can spread to your throat and swell and choke you. So you need to get this fixed. A root canal would be good, but if you can’t afford that, at least have the tooth extracted. Depending on where the tooth is and its condition, you may need to take antibiotics for a few days before it is extracted. Be sure you follow through, because if you just take the antibiotics and leave it untreated, the infection always comes back and is always more resistant to antibiotics to some degree or another.

Many communities have clinics or programs where people who don’t have any money can get basic dental care in emergencies. Call your local dental society and ask about such a program or clinic. Or just start calling dentists. When I was in practice, I would always try to help someone in an emergency situation like yours, and I would take whatever payment they could afford. But they would need to call and let me know their situation.

And don’t delay. The infection can get much worse. It can also break through somewhere and drain and then start to feel better, but you can’t count on that.
– Dr. Hall

We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.

About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

A problem with an infected wisdom tooth

Posted on by .

I am a 25 year old female. I had a terrible toothache with slight swelling of the gums roughly 4 weeks ago. I went to the dentist who said I had an infection in my upper wisdom tooth and that it should be refered to a specialist and be removed. He gave me antibiotics and anti-imflamatory pain pills. The pain pills didnt work and I got stronger ones from the pharmacist. I went to the specialist just after the antibiotics had finished and the pain had gone away. He said to make an appoinment to have all my Wisdom teeth out. I have made the appointment but the earliest date I could get is the 10th of November. Over the last 3-4 days there has been a dull ache in that tooth and the tooth in front of it. It is not exactly painful just sensitive if I bite on that side.

My questions are these. Do you think it is another infection? Will the dentist refuse to operate if there is an infection? Must I see the dentist before my operation to remove the teeth to maybe get more antibiotics? I really cant afford this but I will not be able to afford more time off work if he refuses to operate because there is an infection? Please help I am hopelessly lost and confused as what to do.
– Jennifer from South Africa

Dear Jennifer,
It’s not essential, but it’s a good idea for the infection to be under control when the tooth is extracted. Some dentists will want the infection to be under control before the extraction. But more important is that this infection could get really nasty if it’s allowed to come back. Yes, your infection is coming back and you need to get back on the antibiotics and take them from now until you’re done with the extractions.

You should be able to call your dentist that gave you the prescription and tell him that you ran out and you need more, and that you need enough to get you to the time of your appointment and four or five days past. And he should be able to just phone that in without your needing another office visit. But if he won’t do that, you should go to the specialist and get that done. And I would do that as soon as you can.

These infections in your back teeth can travel to your brain or down your neck, and can cause swelling that cuts off your breathing. I wouldn’t trifle with them. And antibiotics alone will only control them – they never eliminate an infection when it comes from a tooth – you have to eliminate the cause or you still have the infection, even if the symptoms aren’t active.
– Dr. Hall

Related links:
Read more about tooth infection
Read more about wisdom teeth removal
More information about dental implants

We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.

About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

Should I wait the three weeks to get my tooth extracted?

Posted on by .

Dr. Hall,
One specialist tells me I have a fractured root on a 3-year old root canal on my lower left molar (#19). There is an abscess/burst/bad taste/mild throbbing, sensitivity, and generally, I feel tired and foggy-brained since this started swelling 3 weeks ago. I’m scheduled for an extraction and implant later, but must wait over 3 more weeks for the extraction. It feels urgent to have this tooth out and to start feeling better. I’ve asked the specialist to get me in sooner, but it looks like I will have to wait. Should I find another specialist to remove the tooth? What are the consequences of waiting for the extraction/infection growing? Thanks for your advice on this.
– Jeanne in Arizona

Jeanne,
Unless they’ve given you some clinical reason that you should wait to have this tooth extraction done, I’d find someone who can get this done faster. You’re not saying what specialist you’re dealing with – I’ll assume it’s an oral surgeon as that would be the normal situation. You don’t necessarily need an oral surgeon to take out tooth #19. I doubt it would be that complicated. I’d tell your dentist who referred you to this specialist that this is unacceptable to you and you want him or her to refer you to someone who can get you in faster. Or you can go out and find someone on your own. You can call oral surgeons’ offices, or you can call general dentists. Unless there’s something unusual about this tooth #19 besides the fractured root, a good general dentist who does a lot of extractions would ordinarily be able to take it out.

In the meantime, before you get it out, this infection can grow, and it can become more entrenched. It PROBABLY won’t cause any serious complications to wait, but it could, and there’s apparently no reason to wait except that you have to deal with the schedule of the specialist. The biggest reason is that you’re uncomfortable. It also makes you more vulnerable to other ailments, while you’re battling this infection.

Good luck,
Dr. Hall

Related links:
Ask Dr. Hall a question
Infected tooth
Failed root canal

We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.

About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

Is a tooth infection dangerous?

Posted on by .

Dr. Hall,
I have a problem that I think may be from a broken tooth in my mouth. This is what is going on:

About one week ago, one of my molars broke in half. It is the tooth that is located directly in front of where my wisdom tooth was. Since that time, I have been having very bad pains in my check and jaw areas. I have lots of pain in the sinus area of my face and also in my nose area. The last two days, I have started having pain in my temple area and just this morning, I woke up with tenderness in my neck. The pain in my neck starts behind my ear and goes all the way toward the front of my neck.

I do not have the money to have the tooth pulled at this time. I have been taking antibiotics. I am not sure if it is the tooth or maybe sinus troubles.

Maybe you could help me. Someone told me today that it could be dangerous. I have no idea. I just know that it hurts really bad.

Thanks for your time and help,
Lorna in Louisiana

Lorna,
Yes, this is dangerous. Your tooth is infected, and the infection is spreading. If you don’t get this taken care of, it could spread to your brain. Get this taken care of.

Call your local dental society or hospital and see if there is a way you can get help to get this taken care of. Most cities have some way that people who seriously need treatment, as you do, can get help. If you call around enough, you’ll find how people in your community get this help. If you can’t, just go to the hospital emergency room and they will help you, even if it’s only temporarily.

If you take antibiotics without getting the tooth fixed or taken out, then what you accomplish is that you can get temporary relief and you breed bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic, and then the infection comes back worse than it was before. The reason is that you can only kill the bacteria that are spilling out of the infected tooth. You can’t kill the bacteria inside the tooth, the source of the infection, without a root canal treatment or an extraction. Get it fixed.

Dr. Hall

Related pages from the mynewsmile.com web site:
Tooth extraction can be done as a last resort to cure a tooth infection.
Read about oral yeast infection.

We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.

About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

I’ve had an infected wisdom tooth socket for months

Posted on by .

I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed last year with only one issue on my back left tooth # 17? I believe, where there was a little “pocket” where my bone should have been. this has led to a complication that my orthodontist pointed out as when she poked the gum where my wisdom tooth was, green puss started oozing out (small amount, but had a very foul smell) my breath has been mildly bad because of this bacteria or infection of some sort, and it almost seems as if the bacteria seems to want to move to other areas of my mouth as my plaque smells of this bacteria. Do you know what kind of bacteria it is and how i can get rid of it? I have tried squeezing the bacteria out of the pocket, however it keeps reproducing itself. i regularly use listerine. Also, my dentist blew some air with a tool over that area, and they could see i suppose a small green area. help!!!
– Crandall in California

Crandall,
You need to get rid of this bacteria that are causing your tooth infection. And what you’re doing isn’t working. And I can’t help but think this is awfully putrid smelling.
Your on a little bit of the right track with the air. These bacteria that nestle in sockets like this are “anerobia” bacteria – oxygen is poisonous to them. The Listerine clearly doesn’t seem to be getting the job done.
I’ve deal with these infections many times, and I would recommend, in your case, a heavy-duty two-pronged attack. One, you attack them right in the socket. But you need a gentle rinse of hydrogen peroxide, like the kind that is used to help whiten teeth. Get a bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide from the drug store, and mix it with a mild salt solution, half and half. Then you need your dentist to give you an irrigating needle so you can poke directly into the socket and gently pump in this hydrogen peroxide. Do it after every time you eat, because that’s when this hole fills up with gunk.
Then I’d attack them through the bloodstream with a prescription of Clindamycin, 150 mg four times per day for a good ten days.
I’m pretty confident the smell and infection will be gone by then. Then back off and irrigate the socket just once a day as it fills up with tissue.

You can read more about hydrogen peroxide and oral yeast infections.
Dr. Hall

We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.

About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

Categories

Follow this blog

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.