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
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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.
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