I have a wisdom tooth which began to hurt. I scheduled a dental appointment and they told me it was infected and needed to be extracted. The dentist suggested I just get all the wisdom teeth extracted while I’m there. That’s going to be very expensive, but I agreed. He gave me antibiotics and told me to schedule the extraction. I didn’t actually schedule the extraction. The antibiotics kicked in and the tooth no longer hurt so I decided I didn’t need to. Now it’s hurting again. Is the infection back? Should I get more antibiotics?
Livvie
Dear Livvie,
The tooth infection never actually went away. The only thing an antibiotic does is hold it at bay. The medicine kept it in check and then when the medicine was done, it flared back up. Dental infections are different than other types. In order for the infection to completely go away, it has to be physically removed by the dentist either with a root canal treatment or by extracting the tooth. In your case, what happened is the antibiotic helped with the infection which made you feel better, but didn’t really eradicate the infection.
These need to be taken seriously because the infection will spread. Even in the 21st century, people still die from tooth infections. Think about how close your brain is to your jaw. If it spreads quickly, your life could be at risk.
Do You Need to Have All Your Wisdom Teeth Extracted?
You’re extracting this tooth because it is infected. You didn’t mention anything about the teeth being impacted. Unless they are (or also are infected) I see no reason to extract the other three. That is a waste of money and an unnecessary risk. I recommend calling the office and asking why he wants the other three wisdom teeth removed. While you’re on the phone with them, schedule your extraction.
Many patients avoid procedures like this because of dental anxiety. Let’s face it, even if you’re not someone who avoids the dentist, I doubt you’d be jumping up and down about the idea of a tooth being pulled. Fortunately, there is a way to do this in an anxiety-free (and pain-free) way.
Make sure the dentist who is doing the extraction has sedation dentistry available. This will allow you to sleep through the procedure if you want to.
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