Re: Wisdom tooth infection? Abscess? help!
Hi all,
I've seen that this post is 4 months old but since I'm almost a dentist (still a few months and it is done) I'd like to write here my opinion because it can be helpful for somebody else (I hope so).
Please, don't take my words as diagnosis or medical advice because they aren't. Even for experienced doctors, it is impossible to do a diagnosis without a full mouth examination.
First of all I'd like to ensure everybody that healthy people do not die because of dental/gum abscess or pericoronitis. In those rare cases of which some articles can be read, patients were affected by additional diseases and their immune system was already seriously compromised. So people in normal health situation are safe and do not have to worry. It is true, pericoronitis, abscesses and caries are infections and infections are very dangerous but infections are caused by bacteria and there are more than a billion of bacteria species that's why infections can be moderate (dental abscess or pericoronitis) or severe.
If you are interested in more info about oral cavity bacteria, you can read this article onto wikipedia
Originally Posted by
Hypochondriac98
Hi all,
My bottom left wisdom tooth has been crowning for about a year. It hasn't fully come in, and quite frankly I doubt it ever will as it looks crooked. Every so often I get some pain and swelling in that area, but it usually calms down within a few days. The pain and swelling has flared up again, but this time I went t Dr. Google and scared myself silly. I came to the conclusion that it's most likely pericoronitis, but if that's the case, that means an infection is present.
Most likely you are right, it is a pericoronitis that can be caused by both slow tooth growth and/or small food particles trapped between the gingival flaps and retained by the partial dental crown. If this is your case, there is nothing else to do than go to your dentist who will clean the inflamed area and adjust the prosthetic crown in order to avoid that food particles retention will cause the infection to restart.
Originally Posted by
Hypochondriac98
I went t Dr. Google and scared myself silly
Google is a very bad doctor because it says everything and the contrary of everything so the only doctor/dentist that is reliable it that one who visit you before to do a diagnosis
Originally Posted by
Hypochondriac98
..... I've also been swishing warm salt water around in my mouth. Today, the pain subsided considerably, and the swelling went down a tad.
Warm salt water is a temporary home remedy that can work if the inflammation is at its early stage but, in severe cases an antibacterial mouthwash with chlorhexidine works much more better (In the United States only doctors or dentists can prescribe chlorhexidine products while in UK and UE chlorhexidine is an over-the-counter mouthwash).
Originally Posted by
Hypochondriac98
....Does this sound like an infection or an abscess?
An abscess is an infection so there is no difference between them.
Since there are different types of abscesses: periodontal (in the gengival tissue around the affected tooth) and periapical (close to the root's tip of the infected tooth), I strongly suggest you to call your dentist as soon as possible in order to avoid the infection to spread to other areas. This article can better describe you what abscesses are and how to treat them.
I didn't write additional information about abscess because I do not want to bore anyone but feel free to add your questions/doubts down below and I'll be more than happy to answer (if I can)
I hope this can be useful to somebody in the future !!!
[CAUTION] If you are already taking depression medications (antidepressants), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or any other kind of medications, let your dentist know about that just to avoid drugs interactions !!!
Last edited by PatriUCLA; 07-04-18 at 03:59.
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Almost graduated Dentist (UCLA Los Angeles, CA)