My sister suffered a break of posterior molar either 31 or 32, nearly a year ago. Because of unemployment and/or dental costs, she has not had it treated. The last two weeks she has been experiencing significant pain, culminating with waking to swelling this morning. The right side of her face, (jaw/cheek) has stark swelling and the pain is again, severe. Today is Saturday and availability of dentists is slim to none.

Any suggestions as to the level of emergency this swelling may be? Can she wait until Monday to get treatment? And, some immediate aids she could use to address the swelling and pain?

Thanks in advance!

- k MT

Hello k MT,

Oh boy, I hope you read this today. Your sister should go to the nearest emergency room TODAY! There is a condition called Ludwig's syndrome that can EASILY occur if an infection in lower molar tooth causes noticeable swelling in the face, neck or jaw. This syndrome can be life threatening because the swelling becomes internal and closes off the airway.

I URGE YOU TO GET YOUR SISTER TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM IMMEDIATELY!!!

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THIS SITUATION A SECOND THOUGHT...... PLEASE KEEP US POSTED ON HOW SHE IS DOING.

Bryanna

Bryanna - thank you. We're on it as I type this. I'll let you know how it goes. The swelling DID increase as she napped. Scary.

Thanks Bryanna - on top of it as I write this. Took the trip to the ER - she's there now. The swelling increased as the day went on. Thanks again for your input.

k.......

As soon as you can, please let us know how she is doing!

Bryanna

The news is good. My sister is on an antibiotic IV right now, and will need to receive another every 8 hours until Monday. They also referred her to the local community clinic which apparently has an oral surgeon (affordable!) that can then remove the tooth on Monday.

So, one more time and I can't say it enough, THANK YOU for your help. Your insight was invaluable today. If you're ever in Montana, let me know. We at least owe you a nice dinner! : )

THANK GOODNESS!!

The IV antibiotics work very quickly because they bypass the digestive tract and get into the blood stream immediately. She should begin to notice a decrease in the pain within a few hours......... but the swelling may or may not subside a whole lot which is normal because there is still inflammation there. Very good that she is seeing the oral surgeon on monday!!

I am SO glad that you posted here and I saw your message. I don't have any plans on traveling to Montana, but if I ever do, I'll let you know beforehand!!

Please continue to keep us posted on how she is doing.......

Bryanna ~'.'~

Hello Bryanna,

A week later now, and things are now nearly back to normal for my sis. The swelling has finally gone down and she again looks 'normal'. She spent three days going to the ER for continued IV of antibiotics, every 8 hours. And, a variety of pain medications were making her quite ill, so the experience was definitely not a pleasant one. She finally was prescribed some pain meds by a local dentist and those helped after she returned home for good.

She is scheduled to have the treatments on the tooth this Thursday. If I'm not mistaken it will be a root canal and crown, so save the tooth, which they're saying is certainly attainable. More expensive than pulling it entirely, but why not save it if you've got 50-60 years of chewing ahead of you? : )

Anyway, a good ending to a scary story. Just wanted to give you an update. Thanks again.

- kelly

I am very glad to hear that your sister is feeling a bit better. However, her situation is unfortunately typical of a patient being conviced that a root canal is going to render her tooth healthy and give her 50 or so years of stability. I'm afraid that information is completely false.

She has not been informed properly about saving (??) this severely infected tooth. A root canal will NOT rid this tooth of infection because there is no way to remove all of the infected nerve material in the tooth because many of the canals that harbor these nerves are microscopic. Therefore they are not accessible with any instrument, laser or antibiotic. Her tooth will remain infected and it will be a chronic source of pain and infection that will eventually affect other areas of her body.

It is not surprising that her dentist did not mention to her that the term "save" in dentistry means to "retain". It does not mean to "cure". There is a big difference between retain and cure.

Based on what you have posted here about the severe swelling, the pain, the IV antibiotics..... there is no doubt that your sister's health will be in jeopardy if she "retains" this infected tooth for any length of time.

I urge you to let your sister read this post before she resigns to allowing anyone to root canal this tooth. Here are a couple of reputable websites that offer valid information about how root canaled teeth pose a threat to the patients overall health.......

http://www.mercola.com/article/denta...oot_canals.htm

http://www.healingdaily.com/exercise/root-canals.htm

I cannot stress enough that her infection is severe and the tooth is the source of that infection. I have seen countless people (in my 30 years in the dental profession) in her exact same situation and the only CURE every time was to remove the source of infection........ the tooth.

kMontana.......... please think about what I am saying here and please help her to become better informed so she can make her own wise decision of what is really best for her.

Please keep us posted on how she is doing....

I truly wish her all the best :-)

Bryanna






Bryanna,

A week later now, and things are now nearly back to normal for my sis. The swelling has finally gone down and she again looks 'normal'. She spent three days going to the ER for continued IV of antibiotics, every 8 hours. And, a variety of pain medications were making her quite ill, so the experience was definitely not a pleasant one. She finally was prescribed some pain meds by a local dentist and those helped after she returned home for good.

She is scheduled to have the treatments on the tooth this Thursday. If I'm not mistaken it will be a root canal and crown, so save the tooth, which they're saying is certainly attainable. More expensive than pulling it entirely, but why not save it if you've got 50-60 years of chewing ahead of you? : )

Anyway, a good ending to a scary story. Just wanted to give you an update. Thanks again.

- kelly[/QUOTE]

Hi Bryanna,

So, to clarify, it is actually ME that may not be getting all the facts in this situation. I probably assumed much of what you're responding to in terms of the tooth and its condition and associated infection, (past or present).

I can tell you that part of the problem she endured was from a wisdom teeth issue as well. In fact, just yesterday a dentist removed what was thought to be a wisdom tooth that was coming in at a 45 degree angle and it was causing pressure and contact against the questionable tooth, (again I'm sketchy on details here). The wisdom "tooth" turned out to be TWO teeth coming in at the same time. (and again, not exact details for you here). So, having those removed has totally lifted her spirits and seems to have helped considerably.

I will, however, ask her to look at the links you listed in your post here, and make sure she's clear about the magnitude of the infection she's endured and it's potential hazards. ONCE this is ALL past us, I look forward to telling you exactly what has occurred and what it all entailed, with a little more detail!

Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted.

- kMT