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Archives for March 2021

Antibiotics for a Tooth Infection

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I need some advice. I went to the dentist for a tooth infection. I tend to avoid the dentist at all costs but I was in too much pain. He provided me with some antibiotics. While I took those and got better, over the last week it seems to have come back and now my cheek near that tooth is beginning to swell. Do you have any advice as to what I should do next? The last appointment was quite painful so I’m not looking forward to going back.

Millie

Dear Millie,

Woman in pain holding the side of her mouth

Something is not right here. I am hoping you did not hear the dentist tell you that you would need a follow-up appointment. If that isn’t the case, then he has a profound lack of understanding about how dental infections work.

An antibiotic does not heal a tooth infection. It is simply designed to get an infection under control while you wait for your procedure. The only way to truly solve an infected tooth is for the dentist to get in there and physically remove the infected pulp. There are two ways to do this. The first is with a root canal treatment. The second is with a tooth extraction. Without that the infection will return as soon as the antibiotics run out.

This is a serious situation for you. A tooth infection is considered a dental emergency. This is because of how close your teeth are to your heart, lungs, and brain. If it spreads to those, a simple dental infection can turn life-threatening.

Dealing with Dental Anxiety During Dental Emergencies

I realize you are nervous about the dentist, especially after your last painful appointment. The good news is I have a way for you to get the care you need while being completely relaxed and pain-free. When you call to get a new appointment, call a dentist who advertises on their website as a sedation dentist.

When you call, be certain to let them know what is going on with your tooth and how the side of your cheek is swelling. This way they can either get you in right away or provide you with another antibiotic while they get you an appointment.

This blog is brought to you by San Antonion Dentist Dr. Imam.
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Why Didn’t Zoom Whitening Work?

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My daughter had braces for about three years. When we took them off, she had white spots on her teeth. I guess those parts of her teeth didn’t get as dirty during her braces. Our dentist suggested we do Zoom Whitening to whiten the remainder of her teeth up to what the other spots were. We went ahead and did that but it didn’t work. Her teeth are still two different colors. What went wrong?

Kaleyn

Dear Kaleyn,

girl with braces

I can tell you are a loving parent who wants the best for their daughter. The problem wasn’t with anything going wrong with Zoom, but rather your dentist prescribed the wrong treatment plan. Any type of teeth whitening procedure, whether at home or in-office like Zoom, will whiten all the teeth evenly. This means while the darker colors on her teeth were whitened, so were the white spots, which left your daughter in the same position.

The spots themselves are not “cleaner” places. In actuality, it is sort of the opposite. The white spots are decalcified sections of her teeth. Those are pre-cavities. This is a fairly common problem with braces. It can be challenging to get the toothbrush between all those metal wires and brackets.

One thing you can try is something called Tooth Mousse. It is supposed to help re-calcify teeth. However, chances are pretty good you will actually end up having to have dental bonding done. With this procedure, a dentist will gently remove some of the decalcified spots and then replace the missing structure with composite bonding.

This has to be done freehand and requires a dentist with some cosmetic expertise. I do not think your current dentist will be able to do this. Teeth whitening is the most basic of all the cosmetic procedures and he or she had a fundamental lack of understanding of how even that worked.

To make sure you go to a dentist who can do this well, look at their smile galleries, specifically their before and after pictures that have to do with dental bonding. Make sure you love their results.

This blog is brought to you by San Antonio Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Imam.
Ask about our digital smile design.