I see a dentist every three months. Even though it has only been two months, I asked for an extra appointment because I have a tooth that has been hurting for a few days. When I got there he looked at my imaging from my last appointment and said there were no signs of infections. He doesn’t see a crack or erosion in my filling near that tooth either so he thinks it’s probably fine. He gave me a z-pack and said as long as the pain goes away I don’t need to worry about anything. I feel like I’m being blown off. Of course it will feel better with antibiotics, right?

Drew

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Dear Drew,

I’m floored. I’ve heard stories about some questionable dental decisions before but this one is straight incompetence. First, let’s start with him looking at the previous x-rays. Of course there would be no signs of infection. Those were your x-rays from before your tooth started hurting. He should have done a new set of x-rays.

Next, let’s talk about him saying that if your antibiotic helps, you don’t need to worry about it or do anything. Your instinct is right. An antibiotic will make it feel better. That’s what it’s supposed to do. The infection will be held at bay until the antibiotics are completed and then the infection will start to flare back up again.

The only way to deal with a tooth infection is for a dentist to get in there and physically remove the infected pulp. Once you are done with this antibiotic, it will return, possibly stronger. At that point I would consider it a dental emergency.

Most people don’t realize that you can die from a tooth infection. In fact between six to ten people in the United States die from them every year. Don’t let this dentist’s incompetence make you one of them.

Find a different dentist and tell them what is going on to get the treatment you need.

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