How to Manage a Wisdom Tooth Infection

There was a time when wisdom teeth would grow in without any problems. Some people still can see these teeth grow in and never have to do anything about it. Unfortunately, for most people, wisdom teeth cause more issues than anyone wants. If you end up with a wisdom tooth infection, you need to know what to do about it and what to expect because of it.

SIGNS OF A WISDOM TOOTH INFECTION

The first step to managing any problem with your teeth is recognizing the problem. That means looking for the signs of a wisdom tooth infection. The infection can occur when the wisdom tooth partially erupts through the skin of the gums. The eruption provides a place where bacteria can grow, and an infection can start. Symptoms will include swelling, redness and pain in and around the site of the wisdom tooth.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

The first option is to try to treat the infection with a conservative approach. Over the counter pain medications for the pain, salt water rinses to help with the swelling and antibiotics to help fight the infection may allow the tooth to grow and will end the infection before permanent damage occurs.

The second option is a surgical extraction to remove the infected tooth. This can prevent the infection from spreading to other parts of the mouth. It is also a choice that you should try to avoid if you can. While surgery will remove the infected tooth and will help fight any remaining infection, it is also something that most people would rather not deal with.

The one thing you should never do is ignore the infection of a wisdom tooth. It will not only create a variety of different problems that would require more treatment.

SILVER FILLINGS

Many adults who were born in the last 40 years have mouths full of silver amalgam fillings. At the time, the filling seems to have been the wave of the future, but we now know silver fillings can work to stain teeth yellow because of the fillings around them.

If you have a lot of silver fillings, you may also want to think about getting those fillings replaced with something else to help keep your teeth white. Professional cleaning can restore those teeth to their beautiful whiteness.

For more information about this or any other oral health issue, contact our office to schedule an appointment.