What is an acute dental infection?
On rare occasions, if something's untreated for long enough, either a tooth cavity goes completely through the tooth into the nerve, infects the nerve, and goes out the root tip into the bone and makes an infection in the bone, or something gets trapped under the gum, the gum closes off at the top, and it swells. If you have acute pain or swelling in the mouth, there's probably a pocket of pus that's growing and resorbing your bone.
How can an oral infection spread and why is it dangerous?
The more it spreads, as soon as it gets through the bone, if it's on the cheek side, it's going to pop out and usually drain into your mouth. But if it gets trapped in the upper jaw, it's going to get in your bloodstream. There are no valves. In most of the body, we have these valves that prevent backflow of venous blood, so it only goes one way to the heart. Up here, there's no valves. The bacteria can go through the veins in the blood supply into your brain, where you can't get any antibiotics in there, and people basically get an infection and die from it.
How common is a fatal dental infection?
It's very rare. It only happens a couple times a year. And once every couple years, when it makes national news, I all of a sudden have a bunch of people call me and say, you know, do I have an infection? I'm like, no, you're fine. I just saw you a couple months ago. Are you swollen? No. Okay, you're fine.
What happens if the infection is in the upper or lower jaw?
If you do have pain or swelling, if it's in the upper jaw, it can get an infection in your brain. It can kill you. In the lower jaw, if it goes through the planes of the neck and swells enough that it closes off your airway, it can also kill you because you can't breathe. These are not conditions you want to mess around with.
Do antibiotics treat tooth infections?
These are not conditions that respond well to antibiotics. The antibiotic might be a band-aid. It might save you a day or two. There's no way to get the antibiotic into that pocket of pus. There's no way to get the antibiotic into the tooth. There's no blood supply there. It might help contain it. It will not treat it.
What is the only way to treat a tooth infection fully?
The only way to treat it is to physically remove the cause of the infection, which is usually the tooth, or to get into the infection and clean it out. At that point, you're either looking at a tooth extraction, a root canal, or cutting into the pocket of pus and draining it out.
What should I do if I think I have a tooth infection?
These are not things that can be done at the emergency room typically, unless they have an oral surgery department there. These are things that you need to come see myself or another dental provider about so that we can not only treat the cause of the infection, but then also get you some antibiotics on board so that it doesn't become a life-threatening condition.
Your dental health matters to us, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. If you’re looking for expert dental care near Springfield, VA, call (703) 451-4500 or email [email protected] to learn more. Ready to get started? Schedule your appointment below.