I need some advice. I’ve already had a few teeth in the back of my mouth sort of come out on their own. Now I have one that is infected. It’s gotten pretty bad and my right cheek is swollen. I look a bit like that guy from the Godfather. I don’t have any type of insurance and am currently unemployed and running out of money quickly. I do have some antibiotics that my ex-wife left here. She never took them because she went through a phase where she didn’t believe in “western” medicine. It’s a z-pack. Will that work for my tooth?
Bradley
Dear Bradley,
I’m sorry you are going through so many difficulties at once. That is hard. Be aware that while a z-pack can temporarily hold your infection at bay, it will NOT take care of it. In fact, unless you get the proper treatment in a timely manner, you can actually end up in a worse situation than you were in before.
In order to properly treat an infected tooth a dentist has to physically remove the infected pulp. There are two ways to properly do this. The first is with a root canal treatment. This is the ideal because it will save your tooth. The second is by extracting the tooth.
Because your cheek is swollen, I would consider this a dental emergency. It has spread out of your tooth. You don’t want it to reach your brain or heart because then it will become a life-threatening situation.
There may be a dentist in your area who is willing to treat people in your situation and allow you to pay it out, instead of requiring everything up front. I would do an internet search for an affordable dentist. They are usually the most willing to work with people. If that doesn’t work for you, there are often some community charities that will do work in an emergency situation for free. I would call your local dental association. They can point you in the right direction. Just be aware that they will only do the least expensive procedure, which mean a tooth extraction.
This blog is brought to you by a compassionate dentist in Tulsa, Dr. Ryan Noah.