I have a wisdom tooth that was bothering me. I went to see my dentist and he felt the tooth was infected and needed to come out. He doesn’t do wisdom tooth extractions so he referred me to a specialist. The specialist agreed it needed to come out and suggested we remove all my wisdom teeth at the same time. He gave me some antibiotics. His schedule was pretty full so I ran out of antibiotics before it was time for the appointment. At first, I was fine and pain-free, but in the last couple of days the pain seems to be coming back. Does this mean the infection is back? Will he refuse to operate on me if that is the case?
Kelly
Dear Kelly,
It is good to have the infection under control, but not absolutely imperative. What is imperative is that the infection is taken care of. Tooth infections are considered dental emergencies for a reason. Until the infected pulp is physically removed by the dentist it will spread. If you think about how close your back teeth are to your brain, heart, and lungs, you don’t want it to spread. People still die from tooth infections. Any untimely death is tragic, but especially one that is so preventable.
My suggestion is you call your dentist and let him know that your infection has returned before your appointment to have the teeth removed. Ask him to write you a prescription for a second antibiotic prescription, enough to cover you from now until about four days after your procedure.
Your dentist should not have a problem with that, but if he does get in touch with the specialist. Please don’t allow the infection to flare back up.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.