Tooth abscesses

j-baby-scotland

I have a dental appointment in the morning....... made a few weeks ago when I suffered my first ever tooth abscess. The tooth, bottom molar, has been fine after a five day course of antibiotics.
About ten days after the first abscess appeared & disappeared I developed another one, bottom molar, other side. Another emergency appointment, another course of antibiotics... fine again.
Though painful they did not have the more extreme symptons read of on t'internet. Lucky me...

I have been very rundown of late, one thing & another, so my immune system probably was below par.

Having trouble with tmj, more prolonged & painful than my experience of abscesses, I'm worried of it recurring through either root treatment or, if unavoidable, extraction.

What's likely to happen if I decide to hold off treatment at the moment?

Toothsmith

Abscess' don't go away.

They have probabbly been there quietly for a while, and as you say, as you're a bit low at the moment, they've flared up.

Antibiotics deal with the flare up, but not the cause. The cause is a dead nerve in your tooth, and as no blood will flow through that dead bit of putrifying meat, antibiotics won't kill the bugs that are feasting on it!

As the gunk and pus gets chucked out the end of the tooth, your body uses it's defenses - and any circulating antibiotics - to deal with the problem - hence it can be quiet. When the antibiotics go, or when your defences have an 'off day' again - bingo - Flare up again.

Now, Sods law applies all the time in dentistry Chances are the next time it flares up, you'll just be getting onto the aeroplane to fly off on holiday, or your face will puff out like a football on the day of a close relatives wedding!

I would get it dealt with. Goodness knows what a strain having something like that going on in your jaw has had on the rest of your body? It could be the chronic infection that is responsble for the jaw problems.

Ask the dentist. it may be that he feels putting it off for a little while whilst the TMJ settles down may be a good idea, but don't put it off for more than a few weeks, and let the dentist guide you.

black-saturn

I had an absess on one of my bottom teeth once. It would come and go for about 2 years but getting steadily worse each time. I had a couple of courses of antibiotics which cleared it for a while but it always came back. In the end it flared up on xmas eve (typical) and I was in agony. I swear it's the closest thing pain wise to having a baby that you can get. I had a root canal filling done on it and that worked for a bit until one day I was eating a toffee and my tooth got stuck in it and broke off. I had it re capped 3 times but it always fell off. Now I just have the stump of a tooth there and it has been like that for about 5 years now. At least its in a place you cant see.

Toothsmith

black-saturn wrote:

In the end it flared up on xmas eve (typical) and I was in agony.

Yup - Sod's Law again!!

black-saturn wrote:

Now I just have the stump of a tooth there and it has been like that for about 5 years now. At least its in a place you cant see.

This too has the potential to flare up as an abscess. Get it removed.
Remember that Xmas!!

black-saturn

Thanks for the advice.

I never had problems with my teeth until my first pregnancy. Then I had loads go wrong all at once. I'm sure it must do something to your teeth :rolleyes:

j-baby-scotland

Thanks Toothsmith........... you've painted a very vivid picture... urgh!!!

My dentist's great so shall talk it over with him, and no doubt go ahead with the treatment starting tomorrow anyway.

My jaw's okay at the moment, but having dental work done does tend to set it off. The jaw problem is long-standing unfortunately, so doubt the abscesses are the cause, but I suspect my system is definately out of kilter.

Gonna stock up on painkillers.........

Many thanks.

Toothsmith

Pregnancy doesn't by itself.

Did you have cravings? Often, when Mums say their teeth fell to bits during pregnancy, you investigate a bit further and find they went thorough 10 packets of Polos a day, or liked Mars Bars in the middle of the night, or drank vinegar or other such wierd & wonderful tooth rotting cocktails.

black-saturn

Hmmm I did but it was cravings for black olives

Toothsmith

Are they pickled? Forgive me - I hate olives & have no idea what they're preserved in!

fran_from_willesden

Olive Oil isn't it?

Toothsmith

Could be!

It's not just sugary things that rot teeth. Acidic things cause erosion too. I don't know if olives are acidic. I suspect they're pretty safe. Was there anything else?