Is A Tooth Infection Bacterial

Sinus Irritation And Infection Of The Blood Vessels

Because your teeth and sinuses are located close to one another, an untreated, infected tooth can grow into a bacterial sinus infection.

Though rare, an untreated tooth infection can also spread to the blood vessels in your sinuses and cause cavernous sinus thrombosis, a rare and life-threatening blood clot at the base of the brain.

Treatments For A Dental Abscess

Dental abscesses are treated by removing the source of the infection and draining away the pus.

Depending on the location of the abscess and how severe the infection is, possible treatments include:

• removing the affected tooth this may be necessary if root canal treatment isn’t possible
• root canal treatment a procedure to remove the abscess from the root of an affected tooth before filling and sealing it
• incision and drainage where a small cut is made in the gum to drain the abscess

Local anaesthetic will usually be used to numb your mouth for these procedures. More extensive operations may be carried out under general anaesthetic .

Antibiotics aren’t routinely prescribed for dental abscesses, but may be used if the infection spreads or is particularly severe.

So Which Is Better A Root Canal Or Tooth Extraction

For most, a root canal is the better option. However, in some cases, a tooth extraction is the only option. They both have their pros and cons, so it will depend on your overall oral history and procedure preference.

If you have a decaying or decayed tooth, then dont waste any time and call our dental office today. One infected tooth can cause other teeth to get infected. Call 770-0198 today to get an appointment with SK Family Dental to find a solution to your dental problems.

You May Like: Can Food Allergies Cause Ear Infections

What Is A Tooth Abscess And How It Can Lead To Sepsis

Neglecting tooth decay can be deadly. It can lead to a tooth abscess which is a sign of tooth infection. An untreated tooth abscess can host several complications and lead to life-threatening conditions like sepsis. Learn more about a tooth abscess and why its essential to treat it as soon as possible.

Effects Of Tooth Infection

An untreated tooth infection may lead to more severe health conditions, such as:

If an immediate tooth infection treatment is not given to a patient suffering from a tooth infection, the bacterial infection can spread to the blood leading to a medical condition known as sepsis.

The common symptoms of sepsis are rapid heart rate and high fever. The heartbeat rate may rise to about 90 beats per minute or more and the body temperature may rise as high as 101.3°F. Patients with sepsis may also exhibit difficulty breathing at 20 breaths per minute.

Other signs and symptoms of progressing sepsis include mental confusion and mottling skin. If the blood pressure is too low, the patient may experience septic shock. Sepsis can either kill or cause disability. Therefore, prevention or early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to survival. Sepsis may be treated with antibiotics, however pus in the infected area requires surgery.

Meningitis

A tooth infection can also lead to life-threatening meningitis an inflammation of the membranes near the brain and spinal cord. For instance, if a tooth infection is left untreated, it can spread to the bloodstream, spinal cord and brain. People with compromised body immune systems are highly susceptible to meningitis and may require lengthy hospitalization.

Ludwigs Angina

• Trouble speaking
• Difficulty breathing

Also Check: Will One Diflucan Cure Yeast Infection

You Experience Stomach Pain

You should call your doctor if you, your child, or your infant has a high fever. A high fever is defined as:

• adults: 103°F or higher
• children: 102.2°F or higher
• infants 3 months and older: 102°F or higher
• infants younger than 3 months: 100.4°F or higher

Get immediate medical attention if the fever is accompanied by:

A tooth becomes infected when bacteria gets into the tooth through a chip, crack, or cavity. Your risk factor for a tooth infection increases if you have:

• poor dental hygiene, including not brushing your teeth 2 times a day and not flossing
• a high sugar diet, including eating sweets and drinking soda
• dry mouth, which is often caused by aging or as a side effect of certain medications

Causes Of Tooth Infection

According to the American Dental Association , most tooth infections are caused by a cracked tooth or an untreated tooth decay. Tooth decay results from poor dental hygiene practices.

Bacteria builds up from unremoved food chunks and plaques in the teeth, which decays over time resulting in dental caries. When bacteria penetrate the enamel, they infect the pulp tissue leading to an infection known as a tooth abscess. Tooth abscess requires tooth infection treatment from your dentist and any delay in the treatment would worsen the infection.

Any of the teeth can become infected since all of them have sensitive tissues that are susceptible to bacterial infection. Furthermore, research reveals that the molars, especially those with deep grooves, are more susceptible to bacterial infection.

In some cases, the bacterial infection spreads to the jaw bone resulting in the need for extensive dental surgery. It is very important to consult your emergency dentist immediately if you notice any sign and symptom of a tooth infection.

You May Like: Does Second Hand Smoke Cause Ear Infections

Why Antibiotics Dont Cure Tooth Infections

Oral health is vitally important to your overall health. When you are suffering from a tooth infection, you may want an easy solution, such as a course of antibiotics. However, antibiotics wont cure your tooth infection.

Oral bacterial infections cause abscesses, which are small pockets of pus and dead tissue in the mouth. Often times they look like swollen tissue or a pimple on your gums. This usually occurs near the base of the tooth where the roots are. Tooth decay due to poor oral hygiene, failing dental work, trauma or a cracked tooth are ways bacteria can infect your tooth. When bacteria enter the roots, they use your nerve tissue and blood vessels as a food source. They begin to multiply and spread, and the result is a dental infection.

At this point, most patients believe antibiotics are necessary, however, your endodontist knows differently. Due to the anatomy of the tooth, bacteria become trapped in the roots. Without proper cleaning, such as through root canal therapy, the infection will remain and potentially spread to the jaw or even the brain. A draining, cleaning, or possibly even tooth extraction is needed to fully remove a bacterial tooth infection.

Why not antibiotics? There are several reasons antibiotics alone will not cure the infection. The blood vessels that once supplied the inside of the tooth with your bodys antibacterial defenses have been destroyed. Therefore, the antibiotics cannot reach the inside of the tooth to cure your infection.

Are There Any Complications

Its important to have any abscessed tooth treated by a dentist. Even if its already ruptured, youll want to have the area examined and cleaned by your doctor to make sure the infection doesnt spread.

Left untreated, an infection can spread to your jaw and other parts of your head and neck, including your brain. In rare cases, it can even lead to . This is a life-threatening complication of an infection.

Go to the emergency room if you have an abscessed tooth accompanied by:

Recommended Reading: Over The Counter Antibiotics For Bladder Infection

Restorative Dentistry After Tooth Extraction

It will take time for your tooth extraction site to fully heal. The surface healing is usually completely in about two weeks, but it can take months for the trauma to your jawbone to heal. Your Chandler dentist will monitor this area closely, especially as you begin to discuss dental restorations to replace the missing tooth.

Even if the extracted tooth was a molar in the back of your mouth whose absence is not visually obvious, its still important to replace every missing tooth. Each tooth in your mouth has several jobs to do. Besides helping you bite and chew, your teeth maintain tooth alignment, jaw strength, and face shape.

Common dental restorations after tooth extraction include:

• Dental implants: Dental implants are the ideal repair for an extracted tooth because they replace both tooth root and crown for a permanent, natural-looking solution. The manmade root fuses with the jawbone, maintaining jaw health.
• Dental bridge: When one or two teeth are pulled from the same area, a dental bridge can be clasped in place and attached to the teeth on either side of the open space. This restoration is anchored with porcelain crowns to keep the restoration secure.
• Dentures: If you have multiple teeth extracted, you can get a full or partial denture depending on the area of your mouth and how many teeth you had removed that is implant supported and either fixed or removable.

How Much Is Abscess Removal Cost

The price for dentistry procedures can easily scare patients because we all know that dentists are expensive especially for people without insurance.

So what is the dental abscess removal cost in the US ? A quick answer is: $700 to $5,500 !

I think you are asking yourself why so much difference. The point is that, as seen above in this article, abscess treatments are different and it depends on which one is the best to solve your case.

The most affordable price is related to the initial visit, x-ray exam to get the clinical picture and the cure of the cavity that caused the infection.

If that is not enough the doctor has to go with the root canal treatment to get rid the bacteria from the dental root and preserve the tooth. This is the case where the abscess removal cost will be the most expensive because you also need a prosthetic crown in place of the natural one.

Read Also: Will Bladder Infections Go Away On Their Own

Home Remedies For A Tooth Infection

Home remedies may not be able to get rid of a tooth infection but it can at least temporarily offer pain relief from the tooth infection. Having options to alleviate tooth pain is especially important if you are not able to get an appointment with your dentist immediately. The home remedies can prevent the tooth infection from spreading further or at least slow down the infection.

Can A Tooth Infection Spread To The Body

Any bacterial infection, if left untreated, can spread to the body. At first, a tooth infection may spread locally, to other parts of the mouth, face, and surrounding areas. Most commonly, a tooth infection may result in:

• Osteomyelitis:An infection of the bone that surrounds the infected tooth
• Cellulitis:An infection of the skin and the fat beneath the skin
• Cavernous sinus thrombosis:A rare blood clot and infection of the blood vessels of the sinuses
• Parapharyngeal abscess:An abscess in the back of the mouth

Over time, if an infection continues to spread to other areas of the body, a person can get sepsis.

In rare cases, sepsis can result in septic shock, which happens when a persons blood pressure drops low during a bout of sepsis.

Don’t Miss: Online Doctor For Tooth Infection

How Long Before Antibiotics Work On An Infected Tooth

You will be given a full round of antibiotics. The effect of antibiotics is cumulative and must be sustained for the full length of prescription to ensure the infection is properly killed. Continue taking your antibiotics as prescribed until you run out. Do not stop taking them early even if symptoms have subsided.

Symptoms Of Tooth Infection

Symptoms of tooth infection include:

• Bitter taste in the mouth
• Sensitivity to pressure
• Tooth sensitivity to hot or cold
• Pain when eating
• Gnawing or throbbing toothache

As stated above, a tooth infection can spread from the spot of infection to other parts of the body like the jaw, neck, sinuses, brain, etc.

Read Also: Urinary Tract Infection Treatment Amoxicillin

Treatment For A Tooth Infection

There are many ways for your dentist to treat the infected tooth. The type of treatment depends on several factors, like to what extent the infection has spread, and the initial location of the dental abscess. Read further as we explain the possible different treatment for a tooth infection.

Root Canal Therapy: It may be necessary to receive a root canal treatment. This can help treat abscesses deep inside the tooth. The root canal therapy procedure requires thedentist to drill into the tooth and remove the pocket of pus and bacteria at the root of the tooth. Once finished, thedentist will fill the space with a material called gutta-percha. After the tooth is healed, thedentist can restore the tooth with a dental crown, or a filling to prevent an infection from happening again.

How K Health Can Help

Did you know that you can get online dental prescriptions for tooth infections?

to check your symptoms using our symptom checker and text with a doctor in minutes.

K Healths board-certified, U.S.-based doctors can provide a treatment plan and, if required, a prescription to resolve your symptoms as soon as possible. Clinicians are available 24/7.

K Health articles are all written and reviewed by MDs, PhDs, NPs, or PharmDs and are for informational purposes only. This information does not constitute and should not be relied on for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment.

K Health has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references.

Don’t Miss: Burning While Peeing Yeast Infection

What Are The Treatment Options For An Abscessed Tooth

To treat an abscessed tooth, your dentist may:

• Open up and drain the abscess. Your dentist will make a small cut into the abscess, allowing the pus to drain out, and then wash the area with salt water . Occasionally, a small rubber drain is placed to keep the area open for drainage while the swelling decreases.
• Perform a root canal treatment. This can help eliminate the infection and save your tooth. To do this, your dentist drills down into your tooth removes the diseased central tissue , and drains the abscess. Your dentist then fills and seals the tooths pulp chamber and root canals. The tooth may be capped with a crown to make it stronger, especially if its a back tooth.
• Pull the affected tooth. If the affected tooth cant be saved, your dentist will pull the tooth and drain the abscess to get rid of the infection. The space created by tooth extractions can be filled with implants, bridges, or dentures.
• Prescribe antibiotics. If the infection is limited to the abscessed area, you may not need antibiotics. But if the infection has spread to nearby teeth, your jaw or other areas, your dentist will likely prescribe antibiotics to stop it from spreading further. He or she may also recommend antibiotics if you have a weakened immune system.

Tooth Infection Medical Treatment

If you have an abscessed tooth, your dentist may recommend one of the following treatments, depending on how serious the abscess is:

• If you have a simple abscess, your dentist, or a specialist called an endodontist, can do a root canal to get rid of the infection and hopefully save the tooth.
• If the abscess is large, it may need to be drained first before a root canal is done. Your dentist or endodontist will make a small cut in the gum to let the pus out and then rinse the area with saline . They also may put in a small rubber drain to keep the area open and draining while the swelling goes down.
• After the tooth is sealed back up, your dentist can then put on a cap, or crown, as a top layer to protect the tooth and make sure you donât get another abscess.
• If your tooth canât be saved, your dentist might need to pull it, then drain the abscess to get rid of the infection.

Your dentist also might give you antibiotics to make sure the infection doesnât spread to other teeth or other parts of your body. The most common ones used for an abscess include:

How much you take and for how long will depend on the type of antibiotic and your specific situation. But itâs always important to take them exactly as your doctor prescribes.

Don’t Miss: How To Heal Kidney Infection Naturally

Risk Factors Of An Untreated Dental Abscess

Dental abscesses should be treated promptly to avoid the risk of serious complications. These complications include:

• Tooth loss if the abscessed tooth becomes severely infected or weak, a root canal will not be able to save it. If this is the case, you must get the tooth removed and replaced with a dental implant and dental crown .
• Bone infection leaving the tooth untreated can result in an infection that affects the surrounding facial bones.
• Sinus infections frequent and painful sinus infections and/or oral soft tissue infections can also develop.
• this is a life-threatening condition that occurs when your entire bloodstream becomes infected. A dental abscess can trigger septicemia if left untreated long-term.
• Brain abscess a dental abscess infection can travel to the brain, resulting in another abscess. This is relatively rare but can occur if the infection becomes severe enough. A brain abscess is dangerous and requires a visit to the emergency room or hospital for treatment.

Summary

A tooth abscess is serious and can be life-threatening . It can lead to tooth loss, bone/sinus infections, septicemia , or a brain abscess .