Swollen gum

Drawingaline

Last week I started to get some pain in the gum above my crowned tooth. It's happened before, normally after a couple of days it eases or an ulcer appears. However this time the gum has swollen into a huge lump and turned quite painful. I saw the dentist on Monday who took an x-ray and said there was an infection, gave me antibiotics and said I would most likely need the tooth out. (Not an issue from my pov)

Last day of antibiotics tomorrow, the pain and pressure has eased, but the lump is still massive. I thought it would go down as the antibiotics worked on it. If it is still there on Monday I will try and get back to the dentist. I am happy to lose the tooth, it has been on the cards for years and I am amazed I have kept it this long, it was root filled originally back in 2014 with a temporary crown, and my dentist has redone it a couple of times before being satisfied and placing the permanent crown on in 2016. He was never 100% happy with the root, and said it may have had a small crack in it, so for it to have done this long is great. 

Anyway, I suppose the question is, will the lump stay as it is unable to drain until the tooth is removed, or should it go with the antibiotics? 

I just wondered if I need to make an appointment to get it removed asap, or should the lump go, because I can make an appointment with my dentist (rather than the others covering emergencies on a given day) at a slightly later date, as I have built up a trust with him. 

Toothsmith

What future appointments do you have? Are you booked in to have it out sometime?

We can't answer specific medical questions on here for good reason. 

Obviously something isn't right, and if you feel moved enough to ask the question on here, then asking it to your dentist is perfectly valid. 

Drawingaline

Thanks. She just said it will need to come out at some point, I didn't book a follow up.

I just wondered if an infection that led to a huge lump in the gum was likely to be cleared enough with antibiotics to get rid of the swelling 

I will call the surgery tomorrow and see if I can get an appointment with my dentist asap. It isn't painful anymore, just uncomfortable because of the swelling. 

Toothsmith

Antibiotics will only 'cure' a very very few specific dental conditions. More often, they just kick the problem down the road a few weeks/months or very occasionally, years. 

When they do strike again, it is never at a convenient time! Always best to get these things properly sorted out early, and at a time of your choosing. 

Drawingaline

I agree! Have an appointment in 10mins, so hoping a treatment plan is put in place, or the bloody thing is taken out! The swollen gum is actually bigger today, although still not massively painful!

Toothsmith

Good luck with it! 

Drawingaline

Gum abscess drained, was not pleasant. Waiting until it is settled then will have a follow up appointment to discuss what to do about the dodgy tooth. 

Drawingaline

Just wanted to update this post with what happened. In early March I had an appointment with my own dentist. The infection was still present, but was draining rather than building up in the gum like before. In April I had an appointment to have the tooth removed.

As suspected there was a crack in the root. Seeing as my dentist thought this was the case back in 2015/16, I feel I did well to keep the tooth as long as I did.