I went to my dentist who told me I had a tooth infection. He gave me some antibiotics. At first, the were working just fine, but then they stopped. Now my cheek is swollen. Do I just ask for a refill of the same antibiotic or do I need a different one the second time around?
Elaine
Dear Elaine,
I am really glad you wrote. I think there must have been some miscommunication between you and your dentist. Antibiotics can only work to hold a tooth infection at bay. They cannot cure an infection. Your dentist should have scheduled a follow-up appointment in order to deal with the infection. There are two ways to do this.
The first is a root canal treatment. This is the ideal situation because it save your natural tooth. Sometimes, though, an infection goes too far and the tooth cannot be saved, you’ll have to go for option two, which is a tooth extraction.
Because your antibiotic started to give you some relief and has stopped, means your infection is back. Worse than that, it is spreading. That is why your cheek is swelling. If you don’t get the real treatment, it will keep spreading and can go from a dental emergency to a life threatening one. Believe it or not, people still die from tooth infections.
Call your dentist and get back in. Hopefully, a root canal treatment will be all that you need. If it turns out that you do need an extraction, make sure that you replace the missing tooth. The best tooth replacement would be a dental implant. This is the closest thing to having a natural tooth.
If your dentist just prescribed you an antibiotic without telling you that you’d need a follow up appointment to get the actual treatment, then I would switch providers. This is not going to be the best dentist to meet your needs.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Cosmetic Dentist Dr. William Becker.