If you have a fever and swelling in your face and you can't reach your dentist, go to an emergency room. Also go to the emergency room if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. These symptoms may indicate that the infection has spread deeper into your jaw, throat or neck or even to other areas of your body.
Signs of an infection spreading
A person who has a suspected tooth infection and develops any of these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention: a painful tongue and mouth. swelling of the face, cheeks, or neck. difficulty swallowing.
If a fully developed tooth infection is left untreated, it wouldn't take more than a few weeks or maybe months in some fortunate cases for the tooth infection to start spreading to the other parts and tissues of the body and lead to serious life-threatening complications – Once a tooth infection gets to such a point, ...
If you have a severe tooth infection, your dentist may prescribe a course of antibiotics to prevent it from spreading. 1 Antibiotics may prevent tooth loss and other serious health complications.
Your dentist may also use X-rays to determine whether the infection has spread, causing abscesses in other areas. Recommend a computed tomography (CT) scan. If the infection has spread to other areas within your neck, a CT scan may be used to see how severe the infection is.
Tooth infections that have traveled to the jawbone can lead to severe dental abscesses and jawbone infections. Osteomyelitis in the jaw causes persistent pain, jaw stiffness, swelling, and tenderness. Additionally, bacterial infections of the teeth can also spread to the bloodstream and cause sepsis.
Untreated jaw infections can lead to cellulitis (spread of bacterial infection to the skin), Ludwig's angina (spread of bacterial infection to the floor of the mouth), the spread of infection to other parts of the head, and neck, etc. The condition can become life-threatening if ignored.
A root canal may be recommended in an attempt to save the tooth. If you have a severe infection, your tooth may need to be removed, or you may need surgery to drain the abscess. Some people may need to be admitted to the hospital.
A tooth infection is serious and should be treated right away. The longer an infection goes untreated, the more likely it is to spread to the rest of your body, causing a lot of damage to your health and well-being. The bottom line? Don't wait to treat a tooth infection!
Saltwater rinse
One of the easiest things that you can do to help lessen the pain of a tooth infection and try to stop the spread of an infection is to rinse your mouth with a warm saltwater solution. A saltwater rinse will kill off some of the bacteria in your mouth and irrigate your mouth.
Dental sepsis or periapical abscess formation constitutes a large percentage of dental conditions that afflict horses. Dental sepsis occurs when the pulp chamber of the tooth is exposed to the oral cavity or external environment, allowing bacterial localization with resulting infection.
Sometimes, an infection can develop directly in the temporomandibular joint in your jaw. This is called osteomyelitis and is signified with pain in the jaw and face, facial swelling, and fever.
Penicillin-type drugs are common forms of antibiotics for tooth infections. This includes penicillin and amoxicillin. Some dentists may also recommend amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, which a person can get under the brand name Augmentin. This combination may help eliminate more stubborn bacteria.
Left untreated, a tooth abscess can spread to your jawbone, the soft tissues of your face and neck, and beyond. In extremely rare cases, the infection can travel to your heart (endocarditis) and brain (bacterial meningitis).
What's The Takeaway? To summarize, a dentist can easily pull an infected tooth out. However, to prevent the bacteria from infecting other sites, dentists prefer to either drain the abscess or reduce the infection with the help of antibiotics first. This way, there won't be any alarming results after.
The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends: Oral amoxicillin (if you are not allergic to penicillin): 500 mg three times a day for 3 to 7 days. Oral penicillin (as a second option): 500 mg four times per day for 3 to 7 days.
It typically helps to resolve tooth infection symptoms within a few days, but as with all medications, amoxicillin may also cause side effects. Make sure to talk to your healthcare provider if you're experiencing unwanted side effects, or if your tooth infection isn't improving or is getting worse with treatment.
What Should You Do When a Toothache Doesn't Improve? When a throbbing toothache does improve, it is infected. It will not improve until a dentist removes the infection with root canal treatment. Although a dentist gives you antibiotics, the medication does not remove an infection from your tooth.
Also, avoid acidic beverages, sports drinks, and fizzy sodas. You should also stay away from salty and spicy foods. They may irritate your gums near the infected tooth. Although fruits and vegetables are great for teeth, avoid taking the hard-to-chew ones.
While it takes a long time for a tooth infection to become fatal, it's possible for a tooth infection to develop into sepsis if left untreated. Typically, this process takes a few months.
A tooth infection or “tooth abscess” is a collection of pus and bacteria that forms inside the tooth or gum. Without proper treatment, tooth infections can spread to other areas of the body, and this can lead to serious and potentially life threatening complications.