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Oh, I was talking to a friend a couple weeks ago and she was telling me her sister was hospitalized with c-diff infection and it took a long course of strong abx to get rid of the infection. I had to look up c-diff as I had no idea what it was.
They should have taught you that in dental school.
I had an infected root canal for several months, dentist did not treat infection sent me to periodontist. After my consult 2 weeks ago, had tooth number 14 pulled this morning. It was indeed infected and cracked. The smell was horrid. Was told to take ibuprofen. No antibiotics were prescribed. I am wondering if this was a mistake and will the infection clear up on it's own or make me sick?
The dentist may have assumed that since the infection was in the tooth (root canal), that extracting the tooth would remove the source of the infection, taking care of the problem. And while that is true, I'd certainly think that antibiotics might be indicated since extracting an infected tooth might seed some of the causative bacteria into the bloodstream and potentially spread them into other locations. But I'm not a dentist, or doctor, and can't say what the current thinking is for immunocompetent patients or those with artificial "hardware" such as cardiac valves and so on, or those with a history of rheumatic heart disease (used to be they'd get antibiotics prior to any dental procedure).
You're certainly within your rights to contact the endodontist who pulled your tooth and ask him/her about the antibiotics, even a few days after you had it done. That way you may get the antibiotics you should have had, or you may get an explanation of why the endodontist believed that antibiotics were not indicated following your extraction. Either way, hopefully it would put your mind at rest about the antibiotics.
Last edited by Travelassie; 08-28-2017 at 11:51 AM..
Oh abx drugs are given out like candy by MANY doctors. Could be this is WHY abx drugs are not effective enough. I said I hardly take them for the exception recently and the infection I had went undetected for too long. The last abx by a dentist, for me, was about 10 yrs ago and that is the tooth that I've been saved from major work, that MANY of you know what is going on in my mouth.... I have amoxicillan in my refrig since hip replacement for dental cleanings but since I clean my own teeth very well, I don't use these amox.
What pleasure I must bring you all. It could be pretty boring without me here to attack.
I think it must be the unmitigated chutzpah with which you dispense your "medical"advice that makes people shake their heads in wonder.....
Last edited by Travelassie; 08-28-2017 at 11:56 AM..
If you have Harris Teeter stores their pharmacy have most antibiotics for free.
Those antibiotics would still require a prescription from a health care provider, no store (at least in the US) would give prescription drugs away to just anyone who asked for them.
We all develop a transient bacteremia (bacteria in blood) every time we brush our teeth.
Normal oral bacterial flora are by and large anaerobic Gram positives-- plain PCN is the drug of choice for treatment, NOT amoxicillin (less effective than PCN against anaerobes).
Dental problems rarely require anitbiotic tx. Look how often teeth have been extracted in the old days with gaping open wounds left in the jaw and infections only rarely complicated things. Our saliva is full of secretory antibodies (IgA)-- very effective against oral flora.
Other posters here are quite right about use of unneeded antibiotic tx and the CYA mentality of prescribing to keep the legal wolves away from the door.
Prophylactic antibodies are recommended for all dental work for those with artificial joints, valves or valvular disease.
Once the tooth is removed, the infection can clear up on its own. Do what your dentist advised in terms of self-care (rinsing gently after the first day, no smoking, no crunchy foods) and watch for signs of infection (worsening pain, swelling after the third day that's getting worse instead of better, extreme swelling, etc). If you see any, call to see what they want you to do. Many people need antibiotics with a tooth infection, but many don't, especially when they have the problem tooth extracted. I hope you're feeling better soon!
Thanks for the advice. Sorry to stir up and issue between 2 of you. I don't think anyone was looking to give bad advice. Relax.
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