Besides being extremely painful, abscessed (infected) teeth can be deadly! Vadim Kondratyuk, a young 26-year-old truck driver and father of two girls, began complaining about a tooth ache that ended up taking his life within just six days. After feeling severe pain on the side of his mouth, he sought out medical attention and learned that his infected tooth had not only affected his smile but his general health. He was diagnosed with diabetes and the infection from his tooth spread to his blood and lungs, causing Vadim to pass away just a few days later. Diagnosing and treating a tooth infection in Lincoln may be the difference between life and death for our patients! If you ever notice any tooth pain, it’s important to visit Northeast Family Dental immediately.
What is a “tooth abscess?”
Some patients think that their tooth is only made up of the visible portion that can be seen when you smile. There’ also a very important nerve ending of each tooth that’s protected by your gums known as your dental pulp. When the pulp of your tooth becomes infected from either a cavity, broken, or even a cracked tooth, it becomes exposed to harmful dental bacteria. This hole in your mouth also becomes a gateway to the rest of your body, allowing harmful debris to enter your blood system and negatively affect your organs.
What are the symptoms of an abscessed tooth?
One of the most known symptoms of an infected tooth is excruciating mouth pain, but there may also be other physical signs that you can keep an eye out for.
- Swelling
- Chewing pain
- Constant toothache
- Throbbing
- Fever
- Sensitivity to hot or cold substances
- Chronic bad breath
- Odd or bitter taste in your mouth
- Drainage from your gums
- Small, pimple-like bubbles on the gum line
How does Northeast Family Dental diagnose an abscessed tooth?
Usually, our dental professionals will use a combination of visual dental examinations and advanced digital x-rays to diagnose an infected tooth. Digital x-rays can reveal bone loss along the ends of your dental roots, which indicated to us an infection. Dental examinations can also confirm infections with pressure tests or stimulate the particular tooth with temperatures.
How does Northeast Family Dental treat an abscessed tooth?
The best way to treat an infected tooth when caught early is by removing the infectious dental bacteria from the tooth and sealing the tooth from ever being infected again. Your Lincoln dentist can do this by performing a root canal. A root canal is usually completed in one or two appointments in just a few steps.
- One of our dentists will administer a local anesthetic to complete the procedure painlessly.
- Then, the inside of your tooth will be exposed by opening the crown (visible portion) of your tooth.
- Special tiny instruments will be used to thoroughly clean out the infected materials in your tooth including removing the infected dental pulp.
- Once the tooth is disinfected, the hollow space will be filled with a healthy, biocompatible, rubber-like substance called gutta-percha.
- Finally, a dental filling is placed to seal the tooth closed from ever becoming infected in the future.
Visit Northeast Family Dental ASAP!
If you or a loved one is experiencing a toothache, contact our office right away. Treating an abscessed tooth may just save your life! Contact us today to schedule your next appointment.