I have an infected tooth and no money

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