Delayed Treatment for an Infected Wisdom Tooth

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I had some minor pain in a back tooth and went to see my dentist. He told me a wisdom tooth is infected. He gave me some antibiotics and referred me to a specialist. The antibiotics were very helpful. When the specialist saw me, he recommended I remove all of my wisdom teeth but he cannot schedule me for about a month. Since then, the antibiotics have run out and I can feel the pain coming back. Will he be able to treat me if the infection is back?

MaryAnne

Dear MaryAnne,

While you cannot rely on antibiotics alone to solve a tooth infection, in your case, it will be okay to call the specialist and tell him you have run out and need enough to get you through until your procedure. Let him know that you can already tell the infection is returning. He should have no problem writing you a refill on your prescription.

Do not wait to get it refilled. These infections are serious. Generally, they require urgent dental care, but it is okay to keep the infection at bay in the short term with medication. As I mentioned before, it will not heal the infection. The only way to do that is to physically remove the infected pulp of the tooth. Without proper treatment, this can turn life threatening. Our jaws are quite close to our brains and throats. You don’t want the infection reaching either of those places.

To remove the infected pulp there are two treatments: a root canal treatment and a tooth exraction. Generally, a root canal treatment is preferred in order to save a tooth. It is unnecessary on a wisdom tooth, however. This is because you can remove a wisdom tooth without needing to replace it.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.