Question about abscessed wisdom tooth...?

Question

I have been having a gnawing pain on and off for probaly 6 mths or so on the right side of my face only (ear, jaw, tooth)...I made a dentist appt and he said my right back wisdom tooth was abscessed and put me on antibiotics, but he didnt really give me much info on what a abscess was and from my research this is pretty dangerous...My tooth doesnt look black or decayed or anything, but I have noticed a pimple like bump right beside of that tooth...Can I just up and die from this or are there warning signs? Why does the pain come and go? I am really freaking out about this and I cant get into my dentist to get it pulled for 3 more weeks!! Will a extraction completley take care of it or what if it has already spread? Anyone had experiences with a abscess..if so I would love to hear your stories and how you handled it? Am I just being paranoid? Sorry I know this is alot of ?s....thanks for your time!

Sorry for not mentioning my age..20 yrs old

Answer 1

You don't say how old you are, but it is normal in your later teens and 20's to have problems with your wisdom teeth and most people have them removed simply because our mouths are no longer large enough to hold them and they tend to push all the teeth together. An abcess is an infection of the root of the tooth and does affect the area surrounding the tooth because of the inflamation and swelling of that root. Take your antibiotics and stay clear of anything like sweets, sodas, etc. that can get into your tooth and gum and irritate it more. When the infection is gone, your dentist will probably suggest having your wisdom teeth removed. Trust me - your wisdom is not in your teeth - having them removed won't affect your brilliant mind or sparkling personality. Once the infection in your root starts to go away, so will the pain and gnawing feeling. Don't be lulled by feeling great when it's gone ... get the tooth pulled. That pimple like thing you described is the flesh around the root affected by the infection. Clear up the infection, you'll feel 100% better, and then get the tooth pulled. You're not going to die.

The best way to prevent abcesses in other teeth in the future of course is brush often, rinse with water when you can't brush, and always floss between your teeth. I learned that lesson late in life when I had lost a lot of teeth. There's a joke about a man who asked his dentist if it was really necessary to floss between all of his teeth because some were real hard to reach. The dentist told him, that's fine, just floss the ones you want to keep.

Answer 2

It is not a good idea to try and have the tooth removed. The infection in the toothe would cause the tooth area not to be numbed enough unless you go to a dental surgeon. All dentists that I know will give antibiotics for at a week to ten days before the tooth is removed and then an antibiotic after having the tooth removed. If you are taking an antibiotic and using it correctly then I do not feel that you will have any problems with a secondary infection. Do as your dentist instructs, if you have questions ask your dentist, if you do not feel comfortable with the answer you get ask another dentist until you feel satisfied. Remember take the antibiotics faithfully as prescribed and if you have any problems what so ever return to the clinic. At this point, I believe that you are following the correct instructions. Take care. Be informed.

Answer 3

An abscess is an infection. You need to let the antibiotics take their course before getting the tooth pulled (i.e., the infection needs to go away first). If you get the tooth pulled before the infection is gone, it will spread and cause more problems. If you are on antibiotics, you aren't in any danger. I have had an abscess before and everything was fine after taking the antibiotics and getting the tooth pulled.

Answer 4

don't wait too long:

Toothache Leads to Boy's Death

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2925584&page=1

the abcess can be in the root tips and you would have to look at an x-ray to see it. if you have just been dealing with it recently, don't worry that it spread. will extraction take care of it? yes and no. it will take away the pain most of the time. it will get rid of the abcess and it will get rid of the aerobic bacteria. in nearly 100% of the teeth pulled by non-biologic dentists, a creates cavitation is created. it is caused from them not pulling the periodontal ligament and it dies and causes anerobic bacteria to develop. don't count on your dentist to understand this. he may even tell you he pulls it, but rarely would they know to do that. sometimes there is pain with cavitations and sometimes not. you should either go to a biologic dentist to begin with or at least see one later to have the cavitation cleaned.

EXTRACTIONS

Extractions have to be done well. Normally they pull a tooth out, stick a piece of gauze in there and say bite on it. After the tooth is removed, the socket has to be completely cleaned so that complete healing can occur. If tissue such as torn pieces of ligaments or periosteum is left in the socket and covers the bone, the bone will tend to heal over the top, leaving a hole in the bone, and new bone cannot form. This hole can persist for the rest of the patient's life. It is a chronic infection that is called an alveolar cavitational osteopathosis or cavitation. This means that there is an infected cavity in the bone. These bone infections are only now being seriously researched. If they are fairly easy to prevent by proper socket cleaning, why is this not being done? But many if not most dentists have never heard of cavitations.


CAVITATIONS

A cavitation is an unhealed hole in the jawbone caused by an extracted tooth [or a root canal or an injury to a tooth]. Since wisdom teeth are the most commonly extracted teeth, most cavitations are found in the wisdom tooth sites. Please see the graphic and photo below to get a glimpse of what may be in your mouth and the effects it is having. The photo and diagram demonstrate the destructive and pathologic consequence of a routine tooth extraction. Dentists are taught in dental school that once they pull a tooth, the patient's body heals the resulting hole in the jawbone. However, approximately 95% of all tooth extractions result in a pathologic defect called a cavitation. The tooth is attached to the jawbone by a periodontal ligament which is comprised of "jillions" of microscopic fibers. One end of each fiber is attached to the jawbone and the other end of the fiber is attached to the tooth root. When a tooth is extracted, the fibers break midway between the root and the bone. This leaves the socket (the area where the root was anchored in the bone) coated with periodontal ligament fibers.

There are specialized cells in the bone called osteoblasts. Osteoblasts make new bone. The word "osteoblast" means bone former. They are active during growth and maintenance. However, the periodontal ligament prevents the osteoblasts from filling in the tooth socket with bone since the periodontal ligament fibers lining the socket act as a barrier beyond which the osteoblasts cannot form bone. In other words, an osteoblast "sees" a tooth when it "sees" periodontal ligament fibers. Since there are billions of bacteria in the mouth, they easily get into the open tooth socket. Since the bone is unable to fill in the defect of the socket, the newly formed "cavitation" is now infected. Since there is no blood supply to the "cavitation" it is called "ischemic" or "avascular" (without a blood supply). This results in necrosis (tissue death). Hence we call a cavitation an unhealed, chronically infected, avascular, necrotic hole in the bone. The defect acts to an acupuncture meridian the same way a dead tooth (or root canal tooth) acts. It causes an interference field on the meridian which can impair the function and health of other tissues, organs and structures on the meridian. Significantly, the bacteria in the cavitation also produce the same deadly toxins that are produced by the bacteria in root canals (see Root Canals). These toxins are thio-ethers (most toxic organic substance known to man), thio-ethanols, and mercaptans. They have been found in the tumors in women with breast cancer.

Answer 5

You are just worried which is natural. it will not kill you, the worst case scenerio is an infection which you have antibiotics for..

my dad just had an abscess and all his face swelled up.. he had antibiotics too..

antibiotics will get rid of the infection, and when you get it pulled it wont come back!!

wistom teeth are so annoying i am having 3 of mine (thats left) pulled out under general anasthesia in about 6 mnths i presume !