Tag Archives: dental implant

Emergency Dentist

Death from Tooth Infection

I have a toothache and went to see the dentist. He told me I had a tooth infection and needed a root canal treatment. I’m quite busy at the moment. I’ve had other infections, such as a sinus infection that I just sort of put up with and it eventually healed itself. I suggested this to my dentist and he said, and I quote, “That’s a good way to die.” Seriously?! Is he serious or just trying to scare me into getting the treatment?

Andrew

Dear Andrew,

Woman holding her jaw from a toothache

I am glad you wrote. I know it would be easy to feel like your dentist is using scare tactics to get your business. In this case, however, he is right. A tooth infection is different from other types of infections. With a tooth infection, the pulp inside the tooth dies. When that happens, even antibiotics won’t help because there is no longer any blood flow to get the medicine there.

In the meantime, the infection continues to spread. Your jaw is quite close to your heart, lungs, throat, and even brain. You do not want the infection reaching there. Each year, there are between six to ten deaths from untreated tooth infections.

The only way to get rid of an infected tooth is for a dentist to physically remove the infected pulp. That can be done with either a root canal treatment or tooth extraction. A root canal treatment will save the tooth. If you end up having to extract the tooth, then you’ll need to replace it. This is just for the sake of your appearance. It’s because the adjacent teeth will shift or tip into the empty space.

If you do end up needing a tooth replacement, I recommend a dental implant. It is the closest thing to a healthy natural tooth. However, if you get treatment soon enough, you should be able to just get a root canal treatment and not have to worry about that.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Emergency Dentist

When a Dental Crown Feels Off

I had a root canal and dental crown put on a tooth a couple of years ago, but it has really been bugging me lately. It’s not pain, it just awkward. I know that makes absolutely no sense, but it is distracting. My dentist said he can replace it. I let him, but it did not really make a difference. I am not sure what to do. I feel like I’m going crazy. Have you encountered anything like this?

Andrew

Dear Andrew,

Man in pain, grabbing his cheek in need of emergency dental care.

When a dental crown is done correctly and nothing else is wrong that has been missed, you won’t notice the crown at all. It will just fit in with the rest of your teeth. That is not happening for you, so obviously, there is something amiss. You are not going crazy.

Believe it or not, I know a colleague, an advanced and experienced dentist himself, that went through something similar. He too was not being listened to by his dentist, so he switched. When he went in for his first appointment, he asked the hygienist to take a periapical x-ray in hopes of getting some more information. Boy did he!

It turned out that the tooth under his crown was halfway eaten from decay from the inside. He didn’t feel pain because that tooth had a root canal treatment done on it, just as yours did. It was a good thing he kept following up on this because that decay could have spread and caused a massive dental emergency with little warning.

The solution in his case was to have the tooth extracted and replaced with a dental implant. In your place, I would suggest that you go back to your dentist and ask for this same type of X-ray. Follow your gut and until you are comfortable, don’t back down. If he won’t follow up, find a different dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Emergency Dentist

Antibiotics and a Tooth Infection

I went to see a dentist because of serious pain I was having along with swelling in my cheek that went all the way up to my eye. He said I have a massive infection and gave me some antibiotics. I have been taking them. The infection seemed to be getting better but then got worse again. Now I am out of antibiotics. Do I just call to get a refill or is something else going on?

Morgan

Dear Morgan,

Man in pain, grabbing his cheek in need of emergency dental care.

Are you certain the dentist you went to didn’t tell you to make a follow-up appointment? Antibiotics alone do not cure a tooth infection the way they do with other types of bacterial infections. Instead, they just keep the infection from spreading. The reason tooth infections are different is because, at some point, the pulp inside the tooth dies. This means there is no longer any blood flow to get the antibiotic to the infected tissue.

This means while the infection will seem to improve for a bit, without completing the treatment the infection will return. When that happens, it is dangerous and considered a dental emergency. This is where you are now.

The Solution to a Tooth Infection

The only way to truly solve a tooth infection is to remove the infected pulp. A dentist can do this two ways. The first is a root canal treatment. This is what you want because it will save your tooth. If that doesn’t work or it is too late to save the tooth, your next option is a tooth extraction.

If you end up having to extract the tooth, you’ll also want to replace it. Because you lose the root of your tooth when you have an extraction, you will want to replace that root. The only tooth replacement that does this is a dental implant. Without replacing the root, the minerals in the jawbone where the tooth was will begin to resorb and the bone in that area begins to disappear.

Bottom line, this is serious. Get to a dentist right away and get this treated.
This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.