Hi Jon,

I have to be honest with you....... I have so many reservations about people having their dental work done in a dental school and your current situation is one of my biggest issues with it! It is insane to not have someone or at least an answering service covering their phones!! Fortunatley you were able to see your GP......... and amoxicillin was a good choice for oral infection.

Due to many anatomical factors, antibiotics are not going to cure your tooth infections but it can help to temporarily subside your symptoms and it may take a good 48 hours for you to notice some relief. Keep rinsing with the warm salt water about 3 times a day.

It is important that you understand that teeth do not become infected over night. In your case, they have most likely been infected for a very long time but were asymptomatic until now. I'm sure your radiographs show the infection and so the dentists are aware of the situation. Therefore, they had full intentions of placing implants in areas of bone that are not exactly healthy to begin with. Because the infection has started to "show itself" means that it's looking for a place to release the pressure from the inflammation. HOWEVER.... definitely tell them about this flare up and what you are taking.

I'm going to be very straight with you here.........it is not a good idea to place dental implants in an area of bone that is infected. I know some dentists (especially in dental schools) will put them in irrelevant of the condition of the bone, but I also know how high the failure rate is when the bone is not healthy. I think you have every reason to be concerned about proceeding with this surgery on tuesday. But I also think that your dental situation is not going to change for the better which means that the infection will linger and spread as long as those teeth are in your mouth.

If you are going to proceed with the dental implants, then it is better to have them done while you are taking an antibiotic. SO on tuesday, tell the surgeon the latest episode and express your concerns about placing implants in infected bone. I wish I could be there to support you throught this!!! I can only tell you to go with your gut instinct and try not to make decisions out of fear. I know how hard that is to do, but it really is all you can do!

Let us know how you are doing. I try to peek in here at least once a day... sometimes I miss a day or two with my hectic schedule. But keep us in the loop of everything that is going on!

Bryanna