Emergency Dentist Archives - 5 Star Dental Group

I need some advice. I went to my dentist with a nasty toothache. I’ve been on antibiotics that he provided for me. I was getting better, but now everything has swelled up again and I’m hurting. Do I just need a refill of these antibiotics or should I ask for a different kind? I guess you need to know what type I’ve been on. He gave me something called clindamycin.

Greg

Dear Greg,

Man holding his jaw in pain

I am a little concerned there has been a breakdown in communication here. Antibiotics alone are not enough to rid you of a tooth infection. Dental infections are different than other infections because once the pulp inside dies, there is no longer blood flow that can get the medicine to the infected tissue. The only way to truly rid yourself of a tooth infection is by having a dentist remove the infected pulp.

There are two ways to do that. Ideally, you would want to save your tooth, which can be done with a root canal treatment. If that is not possible, then the tooth has to be extracted and then replaced.

It sounds like the antibiotic started to hold off your infection and then flared back up when you ran out. This is why your dentist should have scheduled you for a follow-up treatment. You now have a dental emergency and need to be seen as soon as possible. I would call your dentist in the morning and have him fit you in. As for the antibiotic, that was the right one to use leading up to your appointment, they just didn’t communicate that you’d need to come in before you finished your prescription.

This blog is brought to you by San Antonio Prosthodontist Dr. Tostado.

I had a root canal treatment a few years back. Last month my cheek started to ache near the spot that I had the root canal treatment. I called my dentist and he did some x-rays. It seems that the spot has re-infected. He did another root canal treatment and gave me some Penicillin. Ten days later, and I actually felt worse. He suggested that I give it some more time because some people take longer than others to heal. It’s been another week and I feel my cheek swelling up. How long should I expect it to take before I start to feel better? Is it reasonable to ask for a different antibiotic? I don’t think this one was working.

Amanda

Dear Amanda,

Woman holding her cheek in pain and in need of an emergency dentist

Your dentist is making two mistakes here. the first thing I want you to do is to call a root canal specialist. You have a dental emergency on your hands here. Let’s start with the antibiotic. Penicillin is not the best choice for a dental infection. These types of infections really need a stronger antibiotic in order to give your body the backup to heal. I would have suggested he provide you with Clyndimyacin. When you call the specialist, tell him or her what is going on and ask them to prescribe a more appropriate antibiotic.

The second mistake is not paying attention to your symptoms. When a root canal treatment is done, they can fail even when the dentist does everything right. That leads to a re-treatment. The problem is the chances of success go down significantly with each proceeding treatment. If it failed the first time, there is a greater chance it will fail the second time and even a larger chance of the third time. You have all the indications of the second treatment failing and he just wasn’t putting two and two together.

My hope is that your tooth can be saved by getting to a root canal specialist quickly. If it can’t, the next step is a tooth extraction. When that happens, you need to give serious thought to your tooth replacement. You don’t want to leave the space open. The adjacent teeth will begin to shift or tip into the empty space. This will throw off your bite and could lead to more serious issues such as TMJ disorder. The way to prevent this is to replace the tooth as soon as possible. If you’re looking for the best tooth replacement, I would recommend a dental implant. There are other options though which your dentist can go over with you should that become necessary.

First step, call that specialist right away.

This blog is brought to you by San Antonio Dentist Dr. Tostado.
Click here to learn about Holistic Dentistry.

Antibiotics for an Infected Tooth

Her Dentist is Missing it on This Infection