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Home > Archive > Dentistry > February 2005 > Is an abscess always an emergency?
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Is an abscess always an emergency?
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| kite@execpc.com 2005-02-07, 8:26 am |
| Tooth #29, the bane of my existence, is acting up again. This poor
thing has been root canalled twice (most recently a year ago), and
crowned three times (first crown was poor work, second broke during the
second root canal procedure and needed to be replaced), plus had a
crown lengthening on the gums adjacent to it. It's been fine for the
past year, though. Just in the past few days, my gums have been a bit
irritated when I brush in that area. I looked yesterday evening and
there was a sort of dark splotch immediately at the gumline beneath
that tooth, and a bit of a lump. My dentist's office is not open on
Fridays, so I figured I'd call on Monday and have them take a look.
Tonight, the lump (still neither alarmingly large nor particularly
painful) oozed some pus. I had an abscess in this tooth prior to (and
directly resulting in) its first root canal; now, THAT hurt. But it
was quite different from what I'm experiencing now. This is almost
painless. I don't have a fever. Pressure on the tooth doesn't hurt at
all. Is it still reasonable to simply call the office Monday morning?
I've seen some alarming web sites that say I must run to the emergency
dentist immediately if I think I've got an abscess, lest I die
horribly. But if my symptoms don't worsen, is this perhaps just a
minor infection in the gum? If I can wait, should I rinse it in salt
in the meantime or something like that? I don't have any overall gum
disease that I'm aware of -- I had some deep pockets but I've been
getting regular cleanings and they're down to 2's and 3's and
everything was lovely at my last appointment in November.
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| On 4 Feb 2005 21:03:55 -0800, kite@execpc.com wrote:
>But it
>was quite different from what I'm experiencing now. This is almost
>painless. I don't have a fever. Pressure on the tooth doesn't hurt at
>all. Is it still reasonable to simply call the office Monday morning?
Yes you will likely be fine until monday, have any spare antibiotics
laying around ?
>I've seen some alarming web sites that say I must run to the emergency
>dentist immediately if I think I've got an abscess, lest I die
>horribly.
Fuggedaboudit
>But if my symptoms don't worsen, is this perhaps just a
>minor infection in the gum?
Could be
>If I can wait, should I rinse it in salt
>in the meantime or something like that?
Sure, can't hurt.
> I don't have any overall gum
>disease that I'm aware of -- I had some deep pockets but I've been
>getting regular cleanings and they're down to 2's and 3's and
>everything was lovely at my last appointment in November.
Hate to say it but you may have a fractured root.
--
W_B
wubbabubbazG@RBAGEyahoo.com
Take out the G'RBAGE
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| Joel M. Eichen 2005-02-07, 8:26 am |
| On 4 Feb 2005 21:03:55 -0800, kite@execpc.com wrote:
>Tooth #29, the bane of my existence, is acting up again. This poor
>thing has been root canalled twice (most recently a year ago), and
>crowned three times (first crown was poor work, second broke during the
>second root canal procedure and needed to be replaced), plus had a
>crown lengthening on the gums adjacent to it. It's been fine for the
>past year, though. Just in the past few days, my gums have been a bit
>irritated when I brush in that area. I looked yesterday evening and
>there was a sort of dark splotch immediately at the gumline beneath
>that tooth, and a bit of a lump.
Uh-oh.
> My dentist's office is not open on
>Fridays, so I figured I'd call on Monday and have them take a look.
>Tonight, the lump (still neither alarmingly large nor particularly
>painful) oozed some pus. I had an abscess in this tooth prior to (and
>directly resulting in) its first root canal; now, THAT hurt. But it
>was quite different from what I'm experiencing now.
That was ACUTE, this is chronic.
>This is almost
>painless. I don't have a fever. Pressure on the tooth doesn't hurt at
>all. Is it still reasonable to simply call the office Monday morning?
Yes.
>
>I've seen some alarming web sites that say I must run to the emergency
>dentist immediately if I think I've got an abscess, lest I die
>horribly.
Nope, hype.
> But if my symptoms don't worsen, is this perhaps just a
>minor infection in the gum? If I can wait, should I rinse it in salt
>in the meantime or something like that? I don't have any overall gum
>disease that I'm aware of -- I had some deep pockets but I've been
>getting regular cleanings and they're down to 2's and 3's and
>everything was lovely at my last appointment in November.
Joel M. Eichen DDS
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| Joel M. Eichen 2005-02-07, 8:26 am |
| On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 05:26:24 GMT, W_B <no_one@nowhere.net> wrote:
>On 4 Feb 2005 21:03:55 -0800, kite@execpc.com wrote:
>
>
>Yes you will likely be fine until monday, have any spare antibiotics
>laying around ?
Would this be a case in point for a way for people to get antibiotics
without the approval of their regular doctor?
Joel
>
>
>Fuggedaboudit
>
>Could be
>
>Sure, can't hurt.
>
>
>
>Hate to say it but you may have a fractured root.
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| JWN DDS 2005-02-07, 8:27 am |
| A localized abscess can wait a weekend or two. It only becomes an emergency
when they break through into certain facial spaces (ludwig's angina) and/or
start to cause systemic symptoms (fever, malaise, etc.)
jwn dds
<kite@execpc.com> wrote in message
news:1107579835.353916.145720@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> Tooth #29, the bane of my existence, is acting up again. This poor
> thing has been root canalled twice (most recently a year ago), and
> crowned three times (first crown was poor work, second broke during the
> second root canal procedure and needed to be replaced), plus had a
> crown lengthening on the gums adjacent to it. It's been fine for the
> past year, though. Just in the past few days, my gums have been a bit
> irritated when I brush in that area. I looked yesterday evening and
> there was a sort of dark splotch immediately at the gumline beneath
> that tooth, and a bit of a lump. My dentist's office is not open on
> Fridays, so I figured I'd call on Monday and have them take a look.
> Tonight, the lump (still neither alarmingly large nor particularly
> painful) oozed some pus. I had an abscess in this tooth prior to (and
> directly resulting in) its first root canal; now, THAT hurt. But it
> was quite different from what I'm experiencing now. This is almost
> painless. I don't have a fever. Pressure on the tooth doesn't hurt at
> all. Is it still reasonable to simply call the office Monday morning?
> I've seen some alarming web sites that say I must run to the emergency
> dentist immediately if I think I've got an abscess, lest I die
> horribly. But if my symptoms don't worsen, is this perhaps just a
> minor infection in the gum? If I can wait, should I rinse it in salt
> in the meantime or something like that? I don't have any overall gum
> disease that I'm aware of -- I had some deep pockets but I've been
> getting regular cleanings and they're down to 2's and 3's and
> everything was lovely at my last appointment in November.
>
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| kite@execpc.com 2005-02-07, 8:27 am |
| Thanks for the advice, everyone. After draining yesterday, the abscess
seems to have, well, gone away. No more swelling, no pain, just a
small bruiselike blotch. I'm starting to wonder if I need to do
anything at all for it anymore; by Monday, there may be no evidence
left. (And no, I didn't have any antibiotics lying around -- I have a
terrible habit of actually finishing them!)
| |
| Joel M. Eichen 2005-02-07, 8:27 am |
| On 5 Feb 2005 20:30:51 -0800, kite@execpc.com wrote:
>Thanks for the advice, everyone. After draining yesterday, the abscess
>seems to have, well, gone away. No more swelling, no pain, just a
>small bruiselike blotch. I'm starting to wonder if I need to do
>anything at all for it anymore; by Monday, there may be no evidence
>left. (And no, I didn't have any antibiotics lying around -- I have a
>terrible habit of actually finishing them!)
An x-ray will tell!
Joel
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| MC60614 2005-02-07, 8:27 am |
| Doctors are not God..He may have some spare antibiotics from an old script.
Some people know if they need them and abusers abuse with their doctors help
and often insistance when it comes to med's..MC
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| Joel M. Eichen 2005-02-07, 8:28 am |
| On Mon, 07 Feb 2005 03:39:30 GMT, "JWN DDS" <dds__@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>True... but they are the closest thing we got.
>
>I honestly don't care when people self-medicate. People do it all the time.
People might try to .... transcend dental medication.
>
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| JWN DDS 2005-02-12, 1:31 pm |
| > Doctors are not God..
True... but they are the closest thing we got.
I honestly don't care when people self-medicate. People do it all the time.
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