Question:
I was wondering if an abcessed tooth or teeth can sort of "launch"
bacteria beyond the tooth itself. For instance, can an untreated
abcessed tooth make gum infections more likely, all else being
equal?
Also, can a tooth be abcessed even when the visible decay
doesn't seem very deep? I guess decay could happen under
an existing filling? Will an X-ray of an uncapped tooth
provide proof one way or another of whether or not it is
abcessed?
Answer:
I just had heard that infected teeth had been linked to heart problems
and wondered if there were
any other problems that they've been linked to....thought maybe they
could even affect the other teeth.
I think this dentist is going to treat me, he's given me three more
appointments to do fillings, etc. Which
is a whole lot better than the last dentist in this area I went to, who
did a six tooth bridge, a cap, and then
sat there and watched me with a whole mouth of decay and just looked the
other way because it wasn't profitable to do fillings. This dentist was
one who advertised heavily, by the way - I learned my lesson with that!
I am very sure that the main thing on his mind was selling as many
expensive procedures as he could possibly justify selling, for his time.
Any dentist who "doesn't do" fillings is, in my book, not a very
ethical dentist.
You must be in some serious pain. If you can I would do anything to take your
mind off of your teeth for a while.
Yes, abscesses can and do spread infection to the rest of the body. The mouth
is very much attached to the body. They aren't seperated by anything. While
dentistry is a specialty in the mouth it is no different than a Kidney
specialist. While s/he knows a lot about kidneys, they are attached to the
rest of the body and that specialist needs to look at the whole package.
Take a hot bath, read a book, sign up for a class. I'm so sorry that you have
to suffer through this.
I'm really lucky - even though the tooth seems to be abcessed (I did the
tap and ice test, and I have that horrible smelling stuff coming up from
the gum on that back side) there is only an achy feeling deep in the
roots or bone (not sure which) and the tooth itself doesn't feel a
thing. I think maybe the tooth doesn't hurt like an abcessed tooth
normally would, because the pus is draining out so well from somewhere
under my gums. (I read that most of the pain is because of the pressure
of pus buildup).
I'm thinking - I'm not certain that the tooth is abcessed, I'm
just guessing from the tap and ice tests and the gum problem back there,
but if it is abcessed, and I get it treated, I might be like the
gentleman I read about who had chronic non-bacterial prostatitis, and
his condition cleared up when his abcessed tooth was pulled! I have
Interstitial Cystitis, which is the female equivalent (they think it's
the same disease, just called different names) and the docs aren't 100%
sure but most of them think it's an autoimmune disease (I think so too)
and I'm hoping that this condition that I've had for a year now will be
cleared up, too, if I deal with the abcess.
