Bacteria in our mouth cause dental infections

Dental infections or commonly known as tooth infections are not that rare. Interestingly the number of bacteria living in our body is more than the total number of cells we have. Out of every part of the body, mouth is like a party to millions of different types of bacteria to reside and to have all they need to grow from one place. In exchange, they also give us back for our benefit until the symbiotic balance between the bacteria and our immune system breaks. Thus, when something goes wrong breaking the balance, bacteria will become pathogenic causing infections.

Once you develop a dental infection, we should take medications and proper treatments to resolve it a s soon as possible. We can realize the options we have to take control of the infection after having a good quality discussion with your dentist. Dental infections often end up with giving rise to abscesses at the base of the root in relation to a tooth. You might start to feel some discomfort including tooth sensitivity, pain, swelling, redness, and pus discharging lumps in the affected site.

There are several options.

Dentists always recommend drainage of the abscess as the first step in the management since the antibiotics won’t work properly until you remove the infective foci completely. Sometimes, removal of the tooth might be the only solution to do so. However, there are enough times where the infections resolve after receiving a simple filling or a root canal treatment.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics work as an adjuvant therapy by killing or affecting the growth and proliferation of bacteria. The action of antibiotics is very important to control the progression of the infection.

Major drawbacks of antibiotics make dentists to think twice and take extra precautions before prescribing any antibiotic. Serious allergic reactions caused by the antibiotics can be even fatal. So, it’s always essential to inform your dentist if you have any known allergy for any drug so that the dentist can prescribe you another effective drug.

Sometimes, dentists might have to prescribe more than one type of antibiotic to tackle every bacterium responsible for the infection.

Different types of antibiotics

The most common types of antibiotics used in dental infections are Amoxicillin, Co-amoxiclav (Augmentin), Metronidazole (Flagyl), Clindamycin, and Azithromycin.

  • Amoxicillin is a first line antibiotic that is almost always used for patients unless they have any penicillin allergy since amoxicillin is a type of penicillin.
  • Co-amoxiclav which is sold under the brand name of Augmentin is a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. It is a more potent drug than amoxicillin alone since it has the ability to find and attack more stubborn bacteria. Metronidazole attacks the anaerobic bacteria which do not require oxygen for their survival. Metronidazole is known to affect the growing fetus causing birth defects, breastfed infants, and to cause withdrawal symptoms in alcohol consumers. Therefore, it’s your responsibility to inform your doctor if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding a child or an alcohol consumer so that your doctor can take necessary precautions.
  • If you have a penicillin allergy or if you are non-responsive to penicillin therapy your dentist may prescribe you clindamycin or erythromycin instead. So, it’s important to talk to your doctor about your drug allergies beforehand.

You should follow this one simple thing for sure.

The secret for a successful antibiotic therapy is you taking them for the exact recommended period. Mostly for dental infections, it’s adequate to take antibiotics for three to five days. If you stop taking the medication beforehand, the bacteria will grow stronger and cause trouble again. You may have to start all over again which is more harmful to you because the longer you take the antibiotics the more the bacteria will be resistant to that certain antibiotic. Therefore, you can’t stop taking the antibiotics whenever you want other than after the recommended period by your doctor.

Home care

We always love to try out home care for any disease r before we go to a dentist.

As the tooth infections always give rise to pain you may feel really uncomfortable, and it might disturb your sleep. Do, you can take a couple of over-the-counter pain medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen as a temporary solution. If it’s difficult to find a painkiller at that hour of the day you sleep, you can simply apply some clove oil on the affected area or bite on a piece of clove to reduce the pain.

A gentle rinse with warm salt water will increasing the healing of the condition to some extent. You should avoid hard brushing over the affected tooth. While avoiding brushing there is not encouraged at all, you can use a toothbrush with soft bristles. It’s better if you can avoid eating hard food to prevent further damage to the tooth and the tissues.

Prevention

Prevention is always more admired than curing a disease. So why don’t we take necessary preventive measures to avoid dental infections in the first place.

Sugar is the main source of energy of bacteria. Therefore, we must limit sugar consumption throughout the day to prevent the bacteria grow stronger. It is advised not to consume sugar in between meals and more than thrice a day.

Regular brushing and flossing will remove the habitats for bacteria and make sure that they don’t have enough places to attach their colonies.

It is a huge advantage that regular dental checkups give you the opportunity to identify the infections at early stages and treat them soon before it becomes uncomfortable and difficult to take control over with. Receiving a professional cleaning at least every six months will make sure that there are no deep plaque and calculi are there in the mouth providing the best place for bacteria to grow in number.

Conclusion

We are the first one to be responsible for our health. There’s no point of blaming bacteria if you let them to sneak through your systems and cause trouble. Therefore, let’s take care of our dental health by following good dental hygiene practices.

DISCLAIMER: The advice offered is intended to be informational only and generic in nature. It is in no way offering a definitive diagnosis or specific treatment recommendations for your particular situation. Any advice offered is no substitute for proper evaluation and care by a qualified dentist.