I am curious if an abscess tooth can cause more problems if not taken care of right away?

Question

In Feb of "05" I went to the dentist for a cavity and the dentist drilled to deep and exposed the nerve. I was told that I needed a root canal. I had just found out that I was pregnant and wanted to wait till the baby was born to have the procedure. The baby was born in Oct of "05" and now I have been to 3 different dentists stating that I have an abcsess tooth and I need a root canal the problem is they are telling me that it is going to cost like $800.00 and that is with insurance, so far they will not accept a payment plan so I am trying to go through the government medical plan. The pain comes and goes but is excrutiating, tylenol does not work and they won't give pain meds. In the meantime I have been having terrible neck and back pain along with earpain and headaches. Sometimes I get dizzy and feel a little strange, I thought I was coming down with something but now I am wondering if this could be associated with it. Any help would be great. Thank You

Thanks for all the great answers so far, I know motrin is better than tylenol however, after I had my baby I had an allergic reaction to motrin and the dentists and doc's these days are so picky about pain meds. But I am taking 3-4 tylenols at a time just to dull the pain. I just don't have the $ to get this done. I am already having major probs financially but I will do what I can. Thanks again.

Answer 1

All the symptoms you're describing definitely sound like it stems from the abscess. The best thing you could do is treat it with antibiotics before you go back to the dentist to get it taken care of.

I'm not really sure how one would get ahold of antibiotics without being prescribed to them, but when I had this problem, a friend of mine let me finish out her script of Keflex(sp) it got rid of the infection so they could go ahead and pull the tooth without some enormous procedure.

Either way, you really should get this taken care of, no matter the cost. Abcesses can be extremely dangerous. I've grown up with them and no, they're not fun. The infection could spread to your blood stream and eventually your brain.

I know it's expensive, but you simply must get this taken care of. Your life and well being is more important than your money, especially since you now have a baby to think about.

Speaking of which, congratulations on the baby!

Answer 2

abscesses are little pockets of infection and can be located anywhere in the body. if left untreated, the infection will spread to other areas.

in your case, it sounds like the infection might have spread into your jaw and is not traveling through your neck and head area.

you need to get the root canal done asap. but in the meantime-go to your family doctor or dentist and explain what is going on and why you are unable to get the work done right now-he should be able to prescribe you antibiotics (usually penicillin if you are not allergic) until you can have the dental work done. they can also prescribe you pain meds.

tylenol doesn't work real good for heavy pain. try taking motrin instead-it has an anti-inflammatory in it to help reduce swelling as well as reduce pain. take 200-400mg every 6 hours but no more than 1200mg in 24 hours.

you can also try swishing your mouth out with warm salt water. do this especially after eating anything, before brushing your teeth. add 2tsp of salt to 8oz of warm water.

make a trip to the emergency room if:

-you pass out at all (even if you wake back up)
-you feel extremely faint or dizzy
-you start running a fever of 101.0 or higher


these are all signs of serious infection and you will need i.v antibiotics to treat it

i hope you feel better soon

Answer 3

I've been in your shoes. Hang in there and hopefully everything will work out soon and you can put this behind you.

Try to find the nearest dental school. Contact them and see if they can help you. The students (under their professors supervision) might be able to treat you for a much lower cost.

In the meantime, please follow the advice people already gave on the antibiotics. They really are the only thing that will get rid of the pain. It is tricky though, because if you keep doing that without finishing the whole entire course of antibiotics, it can get worse. But I'd done it more than a few times without my situation getting worse.

You might find some helpful information here (a woman had a similar question):
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmtM6WNUQwcMp0QNfZrxmKcezKIX?qid=20060814153205AAnl4QS

Answer 4

your symptoms of feeling like you have the flu are all associated with an abcess tooth i had one a few months ago and i told the dentist it felt like i had the flu and when he pulled it i felt like i was never sick anyway the dentist should of given you an anti-biotic to take away the abcess and strong pain releiver till the abcess is gone i would try taking around 600 mgs of advil or motrin for the pain and it will also relieve any swelling the abcess has caused and find a different dentist if you can and have that tooth removed

Answer 5

Yes, it can get a lot worse if not taken care of right away. I had an abscess tooth, and I didn't have the money to take care of it, 2 years later, I couldn't bit down on anything, I was in constant pain. and it cost me alot more to have it taken care of.. So you should save now, cause in the long run, not only will it be more painful, it will cost a lot more.

Answer 6

Yes, you really need to go get the tooth taken care of I did the exact ssame thing that you have done thus far, and now I have to go get an extursion on that tooth!! So it is alot better to only have to get a root canal then an extursion!!

Answer 7

go to ur dentist as soon as possible ... dont take antibiotics on ur own ... it should be perscribed by ur dentist ... cuz u might make it worse if u take antibiotics randomly without ur doctors supervision ...

ur gonna need a root canal for sure ... and it will take several visits to the dental office before the abscess is totally controlled ..

i`m a Dentist .. plz dont delay this

Answer 8

You need to get that taken care of. Infections in your mouth can easily and quickly spread to the blood stream, and everywhere else from there.

Be careful taking so much tylenol. It's bad for your liver.

Answer 9

You seriously need to get that tooth taken care of! The infection can travel into your jaw and spread from there.

I would get on antibiotics until you can get the tooth pulled. You need to do this right away.

Answer 10

Abscesses teeth can be fatal. Take antibiotics and mix ibuprofen and acetaminophen for the pain. It really works.