Antibiotics Didn’t Work on My Tooth Infection

I have a sore tooth. I thought I would be okay but it slowly got worse and now there is swelling all the way up to my ear.  I tried to get my doctor to treat it but he said I had to see a dentist. I hate dentists. No offense. But, I finally sucked it up and went to see a “same-day” dentist. He gave me some antibiotics which helped for a little bit, but now it is all swollen again. Should I have gotten a different antibiotic?

Liz

Dear Liz,

Dear Liz,

I am sorry for what you are going through. I’m guessing on top of the stress, you are in a lot of pain as well. My hope is there was some miscommunication between you and your dentist. Otherwise, you happened upon a dentist who has no idea what he is doing. Antibiotics will not cure a tooth infection. All they will do is hold it at bay until you can get the real treatment.

There are two ways to truly treat an infected tooth. Both of them include removing the infected pulp inside your tooth. The first is with a root canal treatment. This is the prefered treatment because it will save your natural tooth structure. The second is with a tooth extraction.

You’ve mentioned that you are swelling up to your ear. This means that your infection is spreading and I would consider it a dental emergency.  If you don’t get treatment, the real treatment, then it can become life threatening.

I realize that you are not fond of the dentist. You are not alone in that feeling and no offense is taken. The good news is there is a way to get treatment in an anxiety free and pain free way. I’m going to recommend that you look for a sedation dentist to help you deal with this situation. They’ll give you a medication that will help. In your place, I’d look for someone who offers oral conscious sedation. This is strong enough that you could sleep through your appointment if you wanted to.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Oksana Bailey, a female dentist in Draper, UT.