Abscessed Tooth Swelling

Definitely start using ACT mouth rinse for Kids, DON'T have the tooth pulled, and trust your dentist. So many people are so quick to listen to their friends and family over their dentist. Using antibiotics on an abcessed tooth used to be the norm, but I'm sure you've heard that over exposure to antibiotics can cause immunity to them. Dentists are now doing exactly what yours did for your daughter. Open up the area, apply medicine directly to the abcess, and wait to see if antibiotics are needed AFTER that. The swelling can take a few days to go away. Start giving her Ibuprofen right away and do so every 6 hours until Monday morning. Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory pain reducer, so if it doesn't help, call your dentist Monday morning. Good luck!

Antibiotics should have been given right away, I agree with the others on this as my son had an absessed tooth at age 2 that was eventually pulled when antibiotics stopped helping (it became absessed over and over). As for pulling, you might find out when at what particular age that molar is expected to come in? If it's at age 10-12, perhaps it could be pulled but if it's not until later you might not want to.

Bad teeth can be genetic. My dad is the only one of his 5 siblings who didn't have false teeth before age 18 and they took excellent care of their teeth and in my moms family, they are known for having soft teeth (which break easily). I'm double whammied as a result and even though I take very good care of my teeth for the reasons listed above, I still get more cavities than I should and teeth that break easily for the care I take (I'm 41). I know eventually I will need to have false teeth as I've already had to have a couple pulled (thankfully all back teeth so far) but I'm putting it off for as long as possible by being adamant about my oral care. Good luck to ya hun!

I had a similar situation once. It took a good couple of days for my puffy face to go back to normal. After the initial drilling and draining though, the swelling was dramatically less the next day, but still noticeable to others than myself.

Hi I am a dental assistant currently staying home with my kids. I would have to say save the tooth it holds the space for the adult tooth. The swelling should be going down you can give her Ibuprofen to help with that also.
Does your water have flouride in it. You may want to start using act mouth wash.
If you have any questions you can feel free to ask me.

Hi J.,

I will forward your letter to my son, who is a dentist, and see what his advice is. I'm really surprised the dentist didn't go ahead and give you a prescription for an antibiotic, but I'm not a doctor.

C.

Edited: I received a response from my son and am going to attach it to my response:

Saving the tooth is the best option due to the need to maintain the space...if the tooth ends up being extracted a space maintainer of some sort will need to be placed until the permanent tooth erupts. Removing the source of the infection (the decay and necrotic tissue of the pulp, the nerve and blood supply, of the tooth) should allow for normal healing from the body's own immune response. Typically if there is obvious swelling I will prescribe oral antibiotics to ensure quick healing and reduction of the infection. If you notice any swelling that could potentially close her airway or makes it hard for her to swallow, get her to the emergency room as they will need to provide IV antibiotics. If the swelling is not gone by Monday take her back or call your physician and see if they will get her an Rx.

Considering the need for multiple restorations and the current situation I can only offer possible advice not knowing your lifestyle. Make sure that your water is fluoridated...bottled water contains no flouride. Also make sure 6 month cleanings and exams are being done. Due to the age of your daughter a parent should be brushing her teeth until she is about 7-8 years old, she can brush first but you need to be brushing them after to ensure proper hygiene. Children do not possess the appropriate dexterity to thoroughly and effectively clean their own teeth. Diet is typically the main issue with children who have many cavities. Fruit juices and milk are often the cause due to the high concentration of acid and sugar. Make sure they are not going to bed with anything at all to drink and make sure that all juice is watered down 50/50 to prevent further damage as well. If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Shawn M. Kerby, DDS

If you would like to have further advice from Dr. Kerby you may contact him through me.

C.

Hi J.! I am so sorry that your daughter has to go through this! I just had a quick thought. Do you follow a vegan lifestyle? This is going to upset some people but multiple cavities and dental problems are a symptom caused by a long term vegan diet. I have no idea if this is your lifestyle but it was just a thought.

Does your daughter drink a lot of juice or other sugary drinks? Does she eat a lot of the gummy fruit treats or vitamins? I just saw a report on children's dental care. They said they are starting to see an abnormally high number of very young children who are coming in with large numbers of cavaties and absessed teeth. Some baby teeth so bad that it has started to affect the permanent teeth underneath. They attributed a lot of the problem to kids drinking more sugary drinks and juices and eating gummy foods.

I would keep a VERY close eye on it and get her back in if the swelling hasn't gone down. I had an abcessed tooth a couple of years ago that got out of control very quickly. I almost ended up hospitalized and it actually damaged my jaw bone. In my experience Urgent Care doesn't handle dental issues very well (they didn't know which antibiotics work best on dental bacteria and gave me the wrong one), but does your dentist have an emergency number for weekends? Can you find an on call dentist or oral surgeon? Mine was so bad my dentist didn't even want to touch it--he sent me straight to an oral surgeon (on a Saturday). Oh, and it can be freak things that cause these abcesses. I had very good dental hygiene too and had always recieved regular dental care. I am in my 40s and have had only 2-3 cavities my entire life. To this day my dentist and I don't know where it came from and it's one of the worst he's seen in his career. I don't mean to scare you because my situation was somewhat extreme and unusual, but dental abcesses can be very serious so I don't think I would let it go until tomorrow if she is still swollen and especially if she is complaining about any pain. Also, mine was drained by the oral surgeon and then I recieved antibiotics. It did take several days for the swelling to go dowm (I was so swollen though my dentist barely recognized me), but I received immediate relief from the pain and pressure and some swelling went down right away if that gives you a guide for your daughter. Good luck and I hope it's better soon.

I don't have any experience with abscessed tooth, but I can offer some reassurance in the cavity department! As I child I had more cavities than I could even count, I had always brushed my teeth but I was very prone to them. But I have never had a cavity in any of my permanent teeth, none. I am almost 29 years old and do not have a single filling, I visit the dentist regularly and brush often. So don't be so hard on yourself, your daughter may just be prone to cavities as a child and who knows, may have perfectly health teeth as an adult. Go luck with the abscessed tooth, hopefully it isn't causing too much pain for your daughter!

if it is absessed so much it is swelling, it is very infected...it could take quite a few days before the swelling goes down...

get the infection gone and get the tooth out.

I am not sure about some of your questions. I had a filling that cracked and got infected. When I went to the dentist he said I would need a root canal but they could not do anything until the infection was cleared. I'm guessing that is the same reason they did not offer to pull the tooth. I would also guess if some of the swelling and pain (if she is having some) does not get better by sunday night, I call them and get her started on oral antibiotics.

Hi J.,
I just wanted to share some of my suggestions as a person who has had dental issues since the age of five. After 10 years I finally found a dentist with some knowledge and someone who helped me with treatment plans. I have genetically soft teeth with a very thin coating of the protective enamel or none on some teeth.
From a very early age I would go to the dentist and have 2 or more cavities each and every time. My parents struggled with the same issues because of the care my teeth were given. My siblings to this day still have never had a cavity or issue. I think you really should push your dentist on a plan and if it does not sound right find another dentist. Today so much can be done to strengthen her teeth including protective coatings, sealants and complex liquids to strengthen her teeth.
Growing up I went for a check up every 2 or 3 months after years of cavities. This may be something you have to consider.
I would hate to have your daughter need the extensive treatment that comes with genetically challenged teeth. Push for a better plan now.
Good Luck!

OMG go in immediately to an oral surgeon at the emergency ward or call the office of a Pediatric Dentist so your daughter can be seen TODAY. The dentist you have now is no good. Your daughter should have been put on antibiotics IMMEDIATELY as soon as they saw there was an infection.

J.. As a former dental assistant I would say yes you should try to keep the teeth. Your daughters molars are saving space for her permanent teeth. A child usually has those molars until they are from 10 -12 years old ,if they lose those then there will be crowding and the permanent teeth will not come in either straight or possibly at the proper time. the swelling usually takes a couple of days to go down. If it is still swollen on monday -tuesday I would call the Dentist. Also you can give her childrens motrin and childrens tylenol to help with any pain. If her face feels warm over that spot I would call the dentist right away on monday am. Good luck

My daughter had the same thing at that age. The dentist said that if he incised and drained the abscess, it would just come back so it was extracted, she was put on antibiotics and a 'spacer' (kind of like a retainer) was placed until she had braces put on when she was 9. She is now almost 11, the braces are off and her permanent tooth has come in. We go to a really good pediatric dentist who also does orthodontics in Lakeville. I can give you his name if you want a referral. (We don't live in Lakeville, but feel it is worth the drive.) Good luck!

My 7 year old has a mouth full of a mess too. Our last visit we were told she needs to come back for several caps and several fillings. I was like WHAT? We were just in 6mos. ago and everything was fine.

I know with kids they donot like to pull teeth, it messes everything up for their permanent teeth and it's years before they get new molars or teeth in some places.

I am surprised they didn't give your child a antibiotic though.

When I use to get them (before having my teeth pulled almost 3 years ago) they said that its an infection. I was always put on antibotics right away then when the antibotics were gone I opted to have the tooth pulled. But they were my adult teeth. They told me to use a cold pack not hot.. hot can spread the infection. My suggestion is that if its not better by morning you can go to the walk in and they will give her something. I have done that myself and then called the dentist first thing monday morning. Dentists like Drs keep opening for emergancy visits so it shouldn't be a problem getting her in Monday even if your unsure in anyway about her mouth.

Good luck and I hope she feels better soon.. tooth pain is one of the worst!

The reason why dentists don't always pull a tooth is because it acts as a place holder for the other teeth that will be coming it. If there is a way to save a tooth they will do it first. If the tooth will not be falling out in 6 months and a new one coming in I would only pull as the last option. The thing I question is if the tooth was abcessed why they did not automatically give an antibiotic to begin with. My guess is that you are going to need it and I bet your little one is in pain. If this ever happens again ask for the antibiotic right away. If your child needs an antibiotic now I would go to the weekend walk in at your clinic. They usually have them on Sat and Sun.