Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryanna
Hi Jwang,
The hard swelling is inflammation from the infection and the surgical trauma. Think of that area as a tight space with no where to expand except to go outward. The hardness is from the tight space around the muscular anatomy. If it were your arm the inflammation would have room to expand as it would find a soft place to travel to. In the lower jaw there is no such place, so that is why any large swelling on the lower jaw can compromise the airway. Does that make sense to you?
Answer to your questions:
1) Infections are a serious problem. Even if Clindamycin appears to work, that does not mean it will completely rid me of the infection.
>>Correct. This is a very serious infection. Sometimes the patient has to be put on IV antibiotics because the oral ones may not be enough. IV antibiotics bypass the digestive tract allowing the body to absorb a more concentrated amount of the meds. That's why they are more effective when dealing with serious bone infections. It is not uncommon for people who have had this experience to eventually revisit this situation if it is not cleared up at the onset.<<
2) I cannot trust this Doctor. He clearly doesn't care or have any empathy for me (and at times it seems like he might have done something wrong and knows it, so he takes out his rage on me because he needs to believe it's my fault).
>>Yup....... could very well be. I would not trust him for a few reasons. One, he may have contributed to the infection/dry socket in the first place during the removal of the wisdom tooth. Two, he did not address the seriousness of the situation sooner than he did.<<
You do not have a gum infection. It is in the jawbone. That's what a dry socket is..... dry infected bone. The gum tissue can heal closed while the bone is infected, not unusual. However, you wouldn't know that is happening unless it was seen on an xray and/or via a surgical exploration. The bone under healthy circumstances will take a year to completely fill in but in the meantime the gum heals closed.
If the swelling subsides you may or may not be left with a residual problem. The area should be monitored with xrays every 3 months for the next year to evaluate the progression of the healing.
Clindamycin can cause what is called Clostridium Difficile or C-diff for short. This is a serious bacterial infection of the intestines brought on by the use of antibiotics because they destroy all of the good, essential intestinal bacteria. Taking probiotics and eating nutritiously..... avoid sugars and empty carbs.... can help prevent this condition from occuring. However, once you have had this condition, you are prone to getting it again even after you stop the medication. That's why it is imperative to take probiotics every day of your life to maintain a good supply of healthy intestinal bacteria just in case you need to take meds for any reason.
It's good that you are being diligent with your meds and probiotics. I know you are going back to the same dentist....... please do the best that you can to have this area monitored at least once every 3 months with a small xray to keep tabs on the healing. Let us know what he says at your appt.
Bryanna
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Bryanna,
Thank you so much for answering all my questions. You've clarified quite a bit. I went back on monday which was post op day 11 and he just irrigated the area. I was a little more firm with him this time (though not firm enough) and questioned him.
"What is this hard lump on my jaw, is it an abscess? Spasmed muscle?" and he said it was just residual "stuff" from the infection and that it would subside on its own. I then asked him what to look out for to know if I should be worried. He said "nothing, just keep taking the clindamycin" I pressed politely again and he said "Swelling and extreme pain, but that' won't happen".
'
On the inappropriate side, the Doctor had switched nurses (and all of the nurse staff at least for that day) and she chuckled at how anxious I was in the room. She obviously didn't know what I had been through in there. I told him I was healing but the worrysome symptoms were still around like the lump and being only able to open my mouth a bit and he stretched my mouth open and said "hurts less huh?" yea downgraded from excruciating to torturous, and finally to just inappropriate on his end in my opinion.
I have another appointment with him tomorrow (post op day 13) and at this point my fever is all gone. I only have 2 more days left of clindamycin and all swelling besides the lump in my jaw is gone. I can open my mouth enough to brush all my teeth and I irrigate the holes with a waterpik. The most passive option I am going to take to continue is certainly the checkup every 3 months which you have suggested but I'm still not sure if that's all. I'm worried because the Clindamycin is basically finished but the hard lump still remains, is that a cause for concern? It has been shrinking as far as I can tell, but it seems like it will take a month to go away on it's own, if it even does. Do lumps like these actually resolve themselves without some sort of physical drainage?
Also I thank you for all your help and input and I know how stubborn of a patient I've been. You guys here have made it clear that I'm being mistreated severely but due to financial reasons I keep going back to this doctor I obviously can't trust. I think of it as a poor free clinic at this point. One thing I was wondering, is there an apprpopriate avenue to complain about his behaviour? I would just like it on his record somewhere because I'm sure I'm not the first to complain and I won't be the last. My initial plan was to write a letter to his partners (who are both his senior), but now I'm thinking I should write a letter to the ADA and CC all 3 of the partners?