Tooth Infection
A Tooth Infection is a bacterial infection occurring in the tooth’s root area. There is pus forming in the tissue which surrounds the affected tooth, thus causing throbbing and intolerable pain and severe pressure.
Teeth infection can also cause a low-grade to a high-grade fever should the infection spread all over the body. Your face may swell, specifically in the area around your jaw and mouth. This swelling may also affect your neck when there is involvement of the lymph nodes. Another symptom of such an infection is tender gums and jaw which make the gum area red and inflamed. You will then become sensitive to cold and hot food which would become more complicated due to the stabbing and unbearable pain. You will suffer from a headache which makes you temporarily incapacitated to perform your normal tasks.
The kind of infection in your teeth’s tissues shall determine the gravity of the entire situation. The bacteria entering the root because of tooth decay will infect the soft pulp area found at the root’s top which is nearest to your tooth. The root will become inflamed if the bacteria have entered and a thick liquid fills the area which can only be removed via a dental treatment. If the infection is due to a root canal that has failed, this can lead to severe complications. Such kinds of infection will enter the jaw bone, and will necessitate an irrigation treatment for it to be corrected.
For a Tooth Infection to be avoided, you need to take care of your teeth properly. You need to have dental cleaning at least two times a year so as to remove the probability of infections. You should also brush your teeth when you wake up in the morning as bacteria builds up in your mouth, every after meal, and just before you go to sleep. To take away food particles, you should floss after you brush your teeth because these particles can cause tooth decay. To remove plaque, bad breath and tooth decay, you can also gargle every morning with a mouthwash. Try to avoid sugar in your every day diet because this causes oral diseases leading to infections.
You should visit your dentist regularly if you have teeth infection which may be due to a broken tooth or tooth decay. The dentist may perform an x-ray where there is infection so that he will know the gravity of the infection and its cause. He may also prescribe antibiotics to heal the inflamed tooth and kill the bacteria. This medication shall also stop the infection from going to the blood stream as well as to your other teeth.
When the enamel of your tooth is chipped or broken, the bacteria may go into your tooth’s center or pulp. This may encourage the infection to go to the root or the bone supporting the affected tooth as well as to the gums. If the infection is untreated, the bacteria may go to the other organs of the body. This is why it is necessary to take antibiotics because they kill the bacteria and heal your abscess.
You can also try home remedies for your teeth infection if it has just started. One such remedy is getting a tea bag that is dry and placing it inside your cheek next to the affected tooth. Leave the tea bag there for two hours for the infection to be drawn out. You can also use a tea bag that is wet and place it directly on your infected tooth. You can chill the tea bag in your freezer prior to putting it inside your mouth as the coldness shall help alleviate the pain.
You may also combine half salt and half baking soda together and then immerse wet cotton inside the mixture. Put the cotton ball in the middle of your cheek and infected tooth and let it stay there for a few hours. Do this a few times daily. You may also gargle with 1.5% hydrogen peroxide in between your treatments so as to disinfect the infected area.
A tooth infection can really ruin your day because of the pain and discomfort it brings, but with these prevention tips and remedies, it shall go away in no time.
